Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 80: Burlap Doll
Not cause trouble? That was impossible.
Myss wiped his lips, his eyes gleaming even brighter than the freshly polished glasses just set out at a restaurant.
Salaar, meanwhile, remained perfectly composed and retreated to Father Kalen’s side. “Left hand?”
The priest’s left hand foretold ill fortune, while his right hand hid in shadows.
Even though this destination was one they had chosen, Salaar believed Father Kalen would definitely have performed a divination in advance.
The priest hadn’t warned them beforehand, which meant the result of this divination couldn’t be too terrible. Now, he needed to know exactly how “not too terrible” it was.
After all, the trip to the Rabbit Hole had also been “not too terrible,” yet they had still gone through quite an ordeal.
Father Kalen gently shook his head. “We’re lucky.”
Of course we are, Myss thought.
The Fallen Child was a mere human infant still wet behind the ears, and her divine form hadn’t even been able to take shape. The Perfected Creation had no brain and could only pursue simple obsessions.
Not long ago, they encountered the Prisoner of Dreams, who had both strength and a decent brain. However, Roman had been trapped underground, had exhausted most of his power saving people, and hadn’t been especially hostile toward them.
Strength, intelligence, hostility. So far, they hadn’t encountered an enemy who possessed all three.
Judging by the priest’s reaction, even if there was an Abnormal Fruit in this place, nothing too serious would happen. Myss confidently puffed out his chest. He and Salaar’s powers were both increasing, and he felt a reassuring sense of being wrapped in a warm blanket.
……
Mag jogged in small steps, leading the group straight toward the city library.
Myss had originally wanted to look more at the scenery of the big city, but he practically ended up being tucked under Salaar’s arm and carried forward. His attention was spent entirely on lowering his head and watching the road.
The members of the Karns family had astonishing physical stamina. When they reached their destination, Myss was already panting a little, while Mag’s breathing was only slightly disturbed.
Myss grumbled twice and raised his head to look at their destination.
Before them stood a square shaped building that resembled a monastery.
Its outer walls were built from clean white stone. Three-story buildings gathered on four sides, while round corner towers stood at all four corners, making it nearly the size of a small castle.
A large stretch of lawn had been left around the building, and beneath the walls were cypress trees with flame-like crowns. From afar, the entire building appeared to be burning amidst a sea of green fire.
Myss turned his gaze and saw a magnificent cathedral not far from the lawn. The passersby nearby were all dressed respectably, either wealthy or noble. Apparently, after running for most of the day, they had actually run all the way to the center of Serpentia.
“Serpentia Library.”
Salaar leaned slightly and explained to Myss in a low voice, “It had stood right here since the days of the Night Scourge.”
Back then, this place had been one of the tacitly acknowledged “sparks of civilization.” Pessimists had sent precious books and records here one after another, praying that after a thousand years had passed, those who came later would be able to retrieve firewood from the ruins and rekindle the flame of civilization.
Myss gave a non-committal grunt, showing little interest.
He truly didn’t like reading. Compared to picking apart those difficult words and phrases, Lord Archdemon would rather have Salaar explain things to him.
“Serpentia Saint Library.” Mag explained quickly. “Hurry up. Keep up with me.”
Salaar paused, his expression somewhat subtle. The moment the group entered the library’s front hall, Myss immediately understood the source of that subtlety.
Hanging prominently in the library’s foyer was a portrait of “Saint Salaar”.
Apart from golden hair and blue eyes, the person in the portrait bore no resemblance to the Salaar Myss knew. Salaar’s true appearance was indeed handsome, but it was a sharp, chiseled, almost statuesque beauty, like a blade glistening in the rain.
The person in the painting had soft, serene features and lowered eyes. With his eyes half-lidded and a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips, he wore an expression of such cloying benevolence that it gave Myss’s goosebumps. Looking at it made Myss’s fist itch with the urge to punch something.
“The Karns family donated many books and a great deal of funding. This place was renamed only a hundred years ago? Was it a hundred years? I forgot.”
Tass cut in with gossip at just the right time. “Anyway, they stuffed a lot of Saint Salaar elements into this place. You can even buy little wooden figurines of Saint Salaar.”
The Dragon Fae’s tone was exceptionally enthusiastic. Myss almost suspected that this kid had not become an assassin purely out of a sense of justice. His love of gossip was absolutely one of the reasons.
Salaar: “…Haa.”
The moment Myss heard Salaar sigh, he instantly perked up.
He deliberately flashed in front of Salaar and put on a soft, serene expression, trying hard to narrow his eyes and raise the corners of his lips, imitating that compassionate and punchable expression.
Salaar silently pinched his own philtrum, then sighed again.
However, when they passed through the front hall and officially entered the chapel-like main hall, Myss could no longer laugh. The four walls here were packed full of books. Dark wooden cabinets pressed close to stone pillars and walls carved with elegant reliefs, but that wasn’t the important part.
High above, across the vaulted ceiling, was emblazoned a vivid depiction of Saint Salaar battling the Chaos Archdemon.
The painter the library had commissioned was, thankfully, a cut above than the children’s book illustrator. At the very least, he hadn’t rendered the Chaos Archdemon as a bedsheet ghost meant to amuse toddlers. He had painted the Chaos Archdemon as a monster with long black fur and deformed goat horns.
The monster’s visage bore a resemblance of both a cat and a tiger, its head brisling with black horns that looked like cancerous growths, while its feet sprouted a multitude of sharp claws and tails, swarming like insects.
The painter had made it enormous, twisted, and elegant, filling most of the image like the night sky. At the center of the painting stood the radiant Saint Salaar: clad in platinum-white armor, draped in a platinum-white cloak, wielding a platinum-white blade, and crowned with hair of an almost platinum-white hue. His entire being resembled a pale, slender, crescent moon.
Saint Salaar was depicted in profile, his feet held fast by the Archdemon’s tail. Yet, even in this dire predicament, his gaze remained resolute as he thrust his blade towards the grotesque beast, which was roaring with its mouth agape.
A beautiful and tragic masterpiece.
…It would have been even more perfect if the people visiting it weren’t the parties involved.
Myss stared at that painting in disbelief, especially that “Saint Salaar” with the resolute expression. Heaven knew how badly he wanted to replace it with an image of Salaar throwing rainbow arrows all over the sky or making a miniature garden out of his tentacles.
“This is slander.” Myss glanced again at the beast with many feet and said in a hiss.
“Indeed.” Salaar stopped walking, rarely agreeing with him. “They never once painted the people who walked with me. Not even once.”
“Haven’t you seen enough at home? Keep up!” Not far away, Mag shouted loudly.
In Myss’s imagination, she would lead them toward the upper floors, just like the Red Amber had. The scenery of this place was nice, and the interior was spacious. As long as he didn’t look at those annoying paintings, Myss rather liked it.
However, Magnolia led them all the way to a certain tower and began heading underground.
This kind of tower structure spiraling downward was exactly the same as the previous underground ruins. It was most likely a classic building style from the Night Scourge period.
But unlike that time, magic devices that simulated the sun, moon, and stars floated in the hollow center, lighting the entire space as bright as day. From time to time, magic fluctuations silently surged over, then quietly withdrew after touching Mag. Myss guessed this was some kind of security magic.
Thank heavens, the Karns family’s reach didn’t extend to this area. The portraits hanging on the walls were all of unfamiliar people, not a grand collection of Saint Salaar art portraits.
“We’re here. This is the United Library.”
After more than ten minutes, Mag spoke dryly. “I can’t bring myself to say ‘welcome,’ so this will have to do.”
Passing through the door at the bottom of the tower, Myss couldn’t help sucking in a breath. After coming to the human world, he was shocked for the first time.
The United Library was like Serpentia Saint Library’s reflection.
Stone pillars were still stone pillars, and the shelves were still stuffed full of books. But the entire spatial structure was flipped upside down. The part that should have been the ground floated with star-like spherical lamps, and above the irregular “vaulted floor” was an added layer of transparent glass flooring.
Between the glass floor and the inverted vault, mysterious blue-purple liquid flowed silently. Mixed within it were many glittering particles of light, like a melted starry sky.
The windows were also still there. Outside them, some sort of projection magic device must have been used to cast sunlight realistic enough to deceive the eye, as well as beautiful mountain scenery that didn’t exist in this place.
Not long ago, Myss had thought Roman and his group were living rather well. But compared to this “underground world,” even Roman’s Divine Realm seemed shabby.
“By the God of Cadance, you’re back!”
A young man passed through the rapidly moving staff and rushed straight toward them.
Myss discovered in shock that this guy and the young man who had come looking for Mag earlier had been made from the same mold.
The two had identical long noses, freckled faces, messy walnut-brown hair, and even exactly the same coats.
“Redding.” Mag nodded wearily. “I heard about it from Raymond. I’ll go over right away.”
“These people are guests introduced by Professor Gentry. Take them to a guest room, then submit the letters of introduction… You know the process.”
Redding hastily looked over the group. His gaze paused on Myss’s face for half a second, then moved past Salaar, only to come to an abrupt stop and circle back.
“Kendrick Karns?” Redding hissed, sucking air through clenched teeth.
“Read the letters of introduction yourself. I don’t have time to explain this to you.” Mag rubbed her temples, a headache brewing. “Raymond, let’s going.”
“You’re twins?” After Mag left, Salaar took the initiative.
“Yes,” Redding answered flatly. It was obvious he didn’t particularly want to communicate with “Kendrick Karns.”
“How fascinating. My eldest brother and sister are twins too. Unfortunately, they don’t look alike at all.” Salaar continued indifferently. “I bet it must be very hard to tell you two apart.”
Redding gave a restrained grunt of acknowledgement, then curiously looked toward Myss—who was currently amusing himself by stepping on the glass floor, even giving a couple of little hops. He found the sensation underfoot quite intriguing.
“Oh, that is my lover, Myss.”
Salaar gave full play to his ability to annoy the Archdemon and used it to torment this poor young man. “I know you’ve probably heard many things about me. I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf, and this is all the power of love… It all started with the very first time we met…”
Redding finally couldn’t endure it any longer and strode ahead as if his rear were on fire.
He led them through countless identical bookshelves and around an archway. On the other side of the archway was a long corridor, steeped in silence.
He opened a door at lightning speed. The room inside was neither large nor small. It didn’t have luxurious decorations like the Red Amber, but the bedding and furniture were all made from high-quality, comfortable materials.
“Please wait here for now. I’ll go submit the letters of introduction.” Redding said, “Be sure, and I mean be sure, not to run around.”
Salaar: “You don’t want to hear the history of Myss and my love?”
Redding ran away like lightning.
Myss: “…”
This guy’s ability to spout nonsense was stronger than all the bards in his memory tied together.
Father Kalen couldn’t help giving a reminder. “Mr. Salaar, he should be a follower of Candance. The Church of Candance doesn’t advocate same-sex relationships. This may be regarded as provocation…”
“I know. In any case, he doesn’t have a good impression of me, so I might as well go all the way.” Salaar said, “This works perfectly. Myss, do you want to go out on a ‘date’?”
Myss let out a low groan deep in his throat.
He hated how well he understood Salaar. Almost instantly, Myss understood his mortal enemy’s intention, and didn’t even have time to feel disgusted. If Salaar played the part of “a lunatic madly in love,” then no matter where the two of them appeared, it wouldn’t seem strange.
However, this kind of “recklessness” was most effective the first time. If repeated too much, it would also make people suspicious.
“This time, the two of you should come too.” Salaar said, “Sir Tass will hide in the pocket watch and follow us. Father, pretend to search for us and go out to investigate normally.”
“Right now, the news hasn’t spread yet, which is when they’ll watch us the least closely. We need to take the opportunity to figure out the current situation.”
Tass immediately accepted, waggling his eyebrows. “Oh my, are you sure I won’t disturb you two?”
“I’ll say this upfront. If you two dare kiss and squeeze my pocket watch between you, you’re dead.”
Myss looked annoyed. “That’s my pocket watch.”
Salaar had clearly said he bought it for him!
Tass: “…Tsk.”
Father Kalen was still deeply worried. “But this is really…”
The ominous aura in Serpentia wasn’t strong, and it was quite possible this entire affair had nothing to do with an Abnormal Fruit.
The United Library was, after all, royal territory, a serious and formal institution. Not long ago, Mag had specifically warned them “not to cause trouble.” Was it really appropriate to go gallivanting about like this?
“It sounds like something major happened at the United Library.” Salaar spread his hands. “Mag won’t let us get involved. Based on what I know of her, she won’t tell me a single word.”
“Perhaps we can help. If we could have done something but didn’t, that would be too regrettable.”
The priest fell silent, but in the end, he nodded.
He was willing to lend a helping hand, and he had seen Myss and Salaar’s strength with his own eyes… At the very least, Salaar was absolutely not the “Kendrick Karns” Mag remembered.
Moreover, if matters went smoothly, the library might help him find the notes of the Order of Shadows.
After all, his older brother had only said that the Order of Shadows had deposited “exploration records” at the United Library. As for what that notebook was called, or how to find it, Hermit had never mentioned.
Father Kalen rubbed the bone ring on his right hand and stood up.
“I’ll be responsible for asking people for information. The two of you can—”
Before the priest finished speaking, Myss abruptly raised his head, and a chill suddenly rolled over his back.
It wasn’t that he had clearly detected anything. It was a certain instinctive vigilance.
In that instant, he touched something “ominous” with his physical body.
Myss subconsciously turned his face, intending to tell Salaar about his new discovery. As his shoulders and neck turned, something soft fell from his shoulder.
It was Tass.
No. More precisely, it was a crudely made burlap doll that looked a little like Tass.
“What’s going on?!” The doll opened its stitched mouth and let out a tiny shriek.
The author has something to say:
You two have already come into contact with all kinds of fan creations.
Children’s books, dirty books (…), religious paintings, everything is available…
However, the cruel reality is like:
[fireworks] Demon [fireworks] God [fireworks] look [fireworks] over [fireworks] here [fireworks]
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