Kingdom's Bloodline, page 36
It became so alert that everything in his mind appeared once again before his eyes like a movie!
"Wu Qiren, what would happen if people like you who are afraid of ghosts really ran into ghosts?"
"Could you please not talk about that? We just finished watching 'The Grudge' two nights ago. I still don't dare walk up the stairs at night alone, okay?!"
"Don't be scared! If you really ran into a ghost, bite it! Bite its throat! If it doesn't have a neck or a head…"
"Are you insane?! Stop it! Stop!!"
"When you're feeling tired from writing your thesis and you lift up your head to stretch your neck, suddenly—"
Wu Qiren took a step forward in anger born from embarrassment, then used the method he was most accustomed with to seal that person's mouth.
Then, as he tasted the sweet taste of her mouth, he saw her eyes, filled with laughter.
The eyelashes were very long, and her eyes were bright.
'Really… What a sly and crafty girl…' Wu Qiren closed his eyes, frustrated, and continued tasting his prize.
Or perhaps should he say that he was actually offering tribute to the true victor?
Another memory returned and was included with all Thales' other memories. However, this memory seemed to differ from the rest. Once it returned to his mind, it did not fall asleep like the others of its kind. Instead, it expanded instantly and grew in size before it trembled in his mind, causing Thales, who had been immersed in the memories from his past life, to be forced out of this illusory consciousness!
Thales' eyes flew open!
During that instant, he seemed to have suddenly gained strength.
That mummy was still sucking his blood without a care for anything else as if it would not stop until it drained him completely dry.
And it continued sucking until a seven-year-old boy's hands seized the spot connecting its shoulders and neck firmly and forcefully!
"If you really ran into a ghost…"
Thales gritted his teeth, seized the mummy's body, and with his remaining strength, he lifted his head desperately...
"Bite it!"
He opened his mouth, revealing his small, baby teeth.
"...Bite its throat!"
Then, like a creature without intelligence...
…he bit down on the mummy's throat fiercely!
They looked like a pair of lovers that were necking each other.
Time seemed to have frozen until a loud crack resounded in the air out of nowhere!
The burnt, dried mummy's neck was not as tough as he imagined it to be, and a piece of flesh crumbled as Thales bit down on its neck!
That piece mystery meat was chewed on indignantly by Thales before he swallowed it!
A sentence that did not suit the atmosphere suddenly flashed in Thales' mind.
'Tastes like chicken. Crispy, too.'
Then, he continued to passionately and frantically bite down on the mummy's 'wound' in large bites.
Just like the vampires in the Cullen Family.
A foul and salty liquid suddenly gushed into Thales' mouth.
This crimson liquid flowed into his throat as he sucked it in large mouthfuls desperately.
It was like how his blood was flowing into the mummy's body swiftly as if there was a pump installed. Similarly, the foul and salty liquid from the mummy's body was being rapidly sucked into his mouth!
However, the mummy did not seem to possess any intelligence, and neither did it feel anything, just like how Thales had descended into a state of madness and how his mind had gone blank.
However, just a few seconds later…
He shuddered together with the burnt, dried, and rotting mummy!
"Ah—"
Immediately afterward, while drinking his blood, the mummy seemed to shiver and it loosened its bite around Thales' neck. It let out a piercing roar and swiftly pushed Thales away!
Once Thales was shoved away, he became stunned for two seconds, as he was overwhelmed by a feeling of relief that he had just survived through a disaster before he instantly lifted his hand and touched the wound on the artery of his neck!
Strangely, even though blood should be spilling all over the place from his neck, not a single drop of blood was dripping out. There were only two warm puncture marks that gave off a numbing sting where his wound should be, and they felt sticky.
The mummy seemed to have rediscovered the thing called 'fear' in that dark room.
Once it pushed Thales away, it covered the spot on its neck where it had also been bitten. Thales' dagger was still in its chest, and it limped towards the black coffin where it had crawled out from!
Thales did not fall into a daze. He stood up, shivering, and found that his physical strength which had almost been depleted just now had recovered slightly.
It was just that the taste in his mouth—'Ack, ew… it's a little disgusting. Hang on. What's going on with that mummy?'
There might be a countless number of questions rising in his head, but he still pounced without any hesitation on the mummy that was fleeing in its pathetic state!
'There's no way you'll always be lucky. Now, we have a score to settle.'
As Thales let out an enraged roar, he extended his hands and pulled the mummy down.
The mummy did not stop moving as it fell and rolled on the ground. As Thales was just about to 'get to know' it with his teeth again, it jumped up in a shocking manner, reaching an exaggerated height, seized the edge of the black coffin, and, with an unsightly posture, flipped back into the coffin.
As for Thales, who had seized one of its legs, he plunged into the gigantic black stone coffin along with it.
*Thump!*
It was as if Thales had fallen into a puddle of water. A warm and wet liquid submerged his entire body.
'This taste..? It's foul and salty. It's blood?'
Thales wrapped his arms tightly around the struggling and squirming mummy from its back.
Before he completely lost consciousness—because he was drowning in blood—a smile appeared on Thales' lips as he was submerged in blood.
'Thank goodness.' He thought with his muddled mind, 'Thank goodness this guy still has a neck, and its head… is still intact.'
Sometime later, Thales woke up in the mysteriously dry, black coffin. He had no idea how much time had passed.
When he opened his eyes, Thales dragged himself up into a seated position. The first thing he did after that was to cough violently and cough up all the blood and water in his body.
"Cough, cough- Cough, cough-"
Thales licked a foreign object in his mouth and instantly registered what it was. As a wave of nausea rose in him, he spat it out.
He panted again and took about a few dozen seconds to recover.
Right at the next moment, Thales's right hand touched the spot by his side and he sensed something cold from a dried-up thing.
'The mummy?'
Thales continued touching it until he was certain that the mummy that had chased him around and had forced him to flee like a bird to the mountains had shattered into a good dozen something pieces, and had scattered everywhere in the gigantic coffin.
He exhaled a breath and chased away the disgusting taste in his mouth.
It was dark in the black coffin.
Thales continued groping his way about in the cold coffin. Once he touched something that felt like a step, he stood on tiptoes and climbed out of the black coffin—that was as tall as an average man's height—with great difficulty.
'This thing isn't like a coffin but more like… a children's pool?' As Thales thought about this, he came to understand how that small mummy had been able to climb out of such a tall coffin.
By using both his hands and feet, he finally climbed out of the black coffin and crashed onto the ground with a thud.
The familiar sounds of battle traveled to his ears. The sounds of a woman rebuking someone and the Count's shouts as he yelled his commands did not go unnoticed either.
Thales' face was down on the ground. As he massaged his shoulder, which was aching due to the fall, he painstakingly pushed up his upper body. 'I wonder what is the situation of the battle outside.'
Only then did Thales lift his head.
And he was then stunned.
Right before his eyes stood a single person.
It was a small person.
More accurately speaking, it was a small figure with long, silver hair falling down her shoulders. She looked a pitiable sight as she stood under the moonlight, and she was trotting forward with unstable footsteps.
With great effort, she took one step.
With great strength, she took another step.
With each step the small figure took, she would stop, and swayed as she walked towards Thales, who had just crawled out of the black coffin.
She continued walking until, with much difficulty, she stood before him.
She had red irises, a pale face, tender skin, delicate limbs, and an adorable face that still had some baby fat on it.
However, at that moment, this 'small person' was staring at Thales on the ground coldly and even arrogantly while looking down on him.
Thales remained stunned for a time and also pondered for a long while before he struggled to his feet with a lot of questions floating in his mind.
Then, he saw the girl's entire body clearly.
She still did not say a single word, only continued looking at him with a cold and stern gaze.
After a long while…
Thales seemed to have come to a sudden realization of something. The abnormal seven-year-old boy blushed, a sight that was rarely found on him, and he scratched his head before he let out an awkward laugh.
"Little- Little girl."
He lowered his voice with slight embarrassment, and while faltering over his words, he hesitantly asked in a weak voice, "Um… Why aren't you, you know…
"... wearing clothes?"
The little girl who was not wearing clothes was standing all by her lonesome on the ground, and she was a full head shorter than this frail, seven-year-old boy.
She regarded the boy with hostility.
When Thales received no answer, he felt even more awkward.
Thankfully, this awkward atmosphere only lasted for several seconds. Because Thales suddenly realized a spot in the 'little girl's' chest.
The was a dagger stuck in there.
The blood on the dagger had yet to dry up.
There were two letters carved on the blade.
JC.
Thales' hand that was scratching his head froze up in an instant.
The boy no fool. Besides, even the retarded antagonists in those simplistic novels who had plot armor protecting them would have their IQ rising at this point.
Of course he would remember how he had stabbed the mummy's heart with the dagger just now.
However, the naked 'little girl', who did not seem to think that being naked was abnormal, was staring at him coldly.
She did not speak. The expression on her round face was calm. Thales' figure was reflected upside-down on her blood-red irises.
Thales put his hand down gently and regulated his breathing. His eyes were trained on the adorable but strange little girl in front of him, and as he looked at her, his mind began switching her figure back and forth with the terrifying phantom/mummy in his memories.
'This is seriously… abnormal.'
Thales exhaled deeply.
The naked red-eyed (mummy) girl was still staring at him with the gaze of a statue.
Anyone else in his place would begin to feel their skin crawl once they were stared at in such a bizarre fashion by this thing for such a long time.
Thales forcefully gulped, then put on a relaxed look and smiled. Once he mulled over it, he forcefully bit back on asking her which sunscreen brand she used.
'This is not a good time to test her. She might look cute, but if she's the mummy from just now, then most probably, she won't have any intelligence-'
"Who are you?"
A young voice rose into the air before him.
'Yup, even though the little girl's gaze still hasn't changed, but the words she said are quite clear, understandable, and rational.
'Compared to the mummy's roars that sounded as if it was coming back to life, her voice is so sweet, cute, and-
'Hold it!'
Thales widened his eyes in shock and scrutinized the extremely strange girl with silver hair and red irises.
'She can speak. She possessed intelligence. She's not wearing clothes- Ack, no!
'She can communicate!'
Then, Thales' mind—which seemed to have disappeared from his life for ages due to his shock—started working smoothly in that familiar manner he was accustomed to.
Translator's Notes:
1. Kayako: From The Grudge.
Chapter 32: Friendly Fire! |
A long time ago, Eastern City District was just the suburbs of Eternal Star City's northeast region. That was the time before Prince Tormund brought the survivors from the Final Empire and pointed at the stars above his head as he swore to build Constellation where Eternal Star City was located.
As Constellation's power rose and its territory expanded, the structure of authority for the upper class in the kingdom began to grow. The number of feudal lords, nobles, and officials increased. The important people in the capital were unwilling to live in the same area as the vulgar merchants, the commoners, the filthy prostitutes, the thieves, and the hoodlums. That was why they built their homes in the suburbs in the northwest region.
Gradually, this area became the spot where the nobles built their manors. It was soon included under Eternal Star City's rule by the Town Hall and became the most important area in the city, aside from the central region and Morning Star Region. The feudal lords who defend the entire country, the popular and influential people in the court, and even the foreign dignitaries who were exiled from their homeland, all loved to build their mansions and manors in this place.
This place was filled with properties belonging to large and small nobles as well as officials. There were practically no apartments for commoners or any sort of bazaars. Even the people who walked on the streets were mostly the servants and subordinates who belonged to each clan. Besides the stupidly exorbitant land prices, there was also an unspoken rule in Eastern City District: The people who buy a piece of land here must have an equally matching status as the land they chose. No one should want to know the consequences of the people who violated this rule. Even the six Great Clans and the thirteen Distinguished Families had built their own estates in Eastern City District, despite having their own manors in other parts of the capital. Naturally, they were all located in the best parts of the region… no matter whether the nobles in these families came to these manors often or not.
It was precisely because of this that the manors and mansions were located far apart from each other, and this was only possible because the area in Eastern City District was already enormous, to begin with. The grass and trees between the manors had been kept in stellar condition by the Town Hall, which was why they were all lush and strong. The main street had also been built wild. It was a stable road, and there were large Everlasting Lamps—provided by the Town Hall—placed one in every twenty meters on that street.
The police and city defense team that patrolled this street would have to be cautious. If they offended these big-shots, not even their superiors would be able to bear the consequences. Yet at the same time, their jobs were also very relaxing. Usually, when they ran into a matter that required the police and city defense team to intervene, the nobles would have their own ways of solving the matter most of the time; outsiders did not need to trouble themselves with it.
Genard had practically never used the sword and bow on his person during his ten years as the leader of the city defense team that patrolled the main street in Eastern City District all year long. His helmet and armor shone as if new. When he ran into the noble's carriages on the street, he would, on habit, straighten his armor, then take a step back and take off his helmet to salute these people. (In the words of the director of the police department in the Eastern City District, the city defense team should have changed their heavy helmets into hats. Taking off their helmets as a salute was simply too hilarious.)
Genard valued his job very much. He knew that his comrades had spent a great deal of effort and transferred him to the capital's city defense team when he was originally supposed to look for his own means of survival after the army was disbanded. Besides, he had even transferred to the Eastern City District, the safe and quiet Eastern City District where the residents there would even occasionally give him tips.
As a farmer born in Doron County, which was located to the south of Constellation, Genard's exciting experiences would definitely be worthy of a bardic song.
About a decade ago, when he was around nineteen-years-old—Genard never bothered remembering his own birthday after his father died—a disaster fell upon his entire village. Bandits who had gathered together had invaded their village and robbed them. Genard, who had no means to survive, responded to the call from a duke in the south and enlisted himself in Duke John's Starlight Brigade.
Genard, who fought valiantly and had a bright head over his shoulders, had gone through the perilous battle to defend Jade City and fortunately managed to survive.
He once took the risk of carrying two sacks of flour and managed to catch up to the brigade who had been retreating into Walla Passage. He followed the duke valiantly and charged into the barricades around the Land of Ivory. ("Before we unite with the other troops, we owe you money for the two sacks of flour."–Duke John)
Under the orders of his superiors, he had also charged into Count Dilbert's welcoming banquet, which was held in the count's house, and had watched Duke John, who had been a guest, deal with their private army without so much as batting an eyelid.
He had even rushed out from under the wave of the impact caused by Mystic spears in Spark Prairie and crushed a battle ax.
He had also led a small troop of soldiers under the duke's nine-pointed star banner and fended against their last, desperate charge at Blade's Gap.
