Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Leo Aldo
For every hunter, scholar, andeven clerics and archbishops—who had made outstanding achievements for the Temple, when alive, they may have persisted in their actions despite what others said . But after dying, they strangely loved to gather in Adoratt . Perhaps, it was to conveniently get up from bed together at midnight to visit their neighbors, chat or to play some contract bridges .
There was only one exception, which was the Archbishop Leo Aldo who loved to make himself mysterious . As the creator of the Barrier, his name was spread for millennia . It was likely due to this that this Archbishop still played a big hand after his death—other than that, he constructed a tomb for himself and refused to be put into the Adoratt .
Oh and also, Archbishop Aldo’s grave was right in the Temple .
Looking from this perspective, he was certainly a man to be feared . While he was alive, as the master of the Temple all major and minor issues had been dependent on his word . After his death, he still wouldn’t leave, becoming the first Mr . Corpse with the right to remain in the Temple .
Now, years had passed and practically no one knew that this legendary Archbishop actually got his own corpse placed in some corner of the Temple . Only in the garden at the central was there a statue of the archbishop . After a long, long time, people all thought that was the place his corpse was buried . And thus, annually, on the 16th November, people would offer flowers there .
The might and strength of the statue of the Archbishop was far from Karlos’s statue in the cemetery . He looked very young, clothed in an archbishop’s ceremonial robes, with the hems dragging on the ground . The half-long hair rested on the shoulders, curling slightly at the bottom . One of his hands held the staff with the archbishop’s emblem, while his other hand hung at the side of his body, fingertips clasping a blooming seven sisters rose[1] . His head was lowered, eyes lowered, and he looked just like a melancholic poet facing the direction of the Adoratt .
They said that this statue was made by the Archbishop for himself back then—of course, the original one couldn’t have been maintained for so many years . In order to prevent the tourists from leaving with an image of the Archbishop missing a nose or ear, the Temple had already revamped it seven or eight times .
Some people said that the melancholic expression towards Adoratt indicated the Archbishop’s silent grievance for the dead heroes . Some people also said that he was recalling his unknown lover separated by life and death[2] .
There were already-blurred, small words below the statue: Ten years akin to eternity .
Many years had passed . The historians still had various, differing speculation as to the meaning behind these words .
Right in the afternoon—after the hunter, Kelson, had been attacked by an unknown Decay and sent to the Temple Hospital for recuperation after being treated by the healer, Amy—the Temple grounds suddenly quaked .
Not just in the Mid-mountains area . Even the entire State of Salla felt a quake as though it came from the depths of the earth . On that very afternoon, the TV broadcasted the severity level of this small earthquake and its epicenter in a news ticker—a commonly seen small earthquake like this that only quaked slightly and without any deaths or wounds are very quickly forgotten by the people .
Yet, in the depths of the Temple, the seal that hid a thousand year old secret room suddenly emitted a milky white glow .
An immense magic circle weighed down in the secret room—that was the legendary nucleus of the Barrier, protected by layers after layers of spells . Beside these spells was a crystal coffin .
Inside the coffin lay a man who still looked like he was in his teenage years, his expression peaceful—as though he did not pass away but was sleeping inside .
If someone was to see it, they would surely shriek in alarm, because this man’s appearance was shockingly similar to the Archbishop Aldo in the garden . But… was it possible for a person’s corpse not to rot throughout one thousand years?
Circles and circles of spells overlapped on his crystal coffin but the interior of the coffin was surprisingly simple with practically zero funerary objects—other than a flower . That was a real seven sisters rose, so tender and beautiful as though it had just been plucked off along with the morning dew . It was clasped in the hands of the man quietly lying there like a treasure . Under a certain mysterious power, it had already bloomed for over a thousand years .
The small earthquake in the State of Salla calmed down very quickly, yet, the quaking in the hidden room never relented . The magic array had already been activated for a thousand years, thus the light seemed a little dim . In the midst of the shaking, a damaged corner was gradually revealed . The dust and dirt in the room’s ceiling fluttered their way down . And right in the midst of this process, a tiny blue light at the side began to rove on the crystal coffin as though they were stringing up those sparks of fire on the crystal coffin . They then entered into the male corpse in the coffin .
An unknown period of time passed before a dewdrop rolled down the petal of the rose he was holding, flowing down along the man’s pale finger .
And this “Sleeping Beauty” seemed to have finally felt the icy coldness of the dew . His finger that stiffened for a thousand years suddenly jerked lightly . Luckily, no one witnessed this sight—considering how enthusiastically he moved as a corpse[3] .
Who knew how long had passed before a deep sigh came from the depths of the tomb .
At the same time, John was in Jel’s place, giving a “lecture of the prehistory Decays popular science” to the “ignorant” juniors .
“Abyss Dholes are a type of Rank 1 Decays . ” John lay on the sofa in satisfaction, hugging a box of chocolate in his arms in love, refusing to let go . That thing had clearly already enamored him . And Mr . Evan Gerardo sitting on the opposite side looked bewildered . John glanced at him and couldn’t help but ask, “What, have you guys stopped ranking the Decays into levels now?”
How embarrassing—Roy pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at Evan coldly . “Mr . Gerardo, as a representative, I will inform you that you’ll receive a notice for a “make-up exam” for the history subject in the future—to rank Decays based on how dangerous they are is certainly an ancient practice . Thanks to Archbishop Aldo, we have the Barrier now, so only a minute amount of Decays slipped through the net . Since they could avoid the detection of the Barrier’s net, the majority of them are limited in their offensive abilities, thus rankings gradually stopped being mentioned . ”
Jel noticed that Mr . Cleric’s expression changed at the mention of “Archbishop Aldo”, though he very quickly covered it up . Silent for a while, he asked, “Aldo?”
“Archbishop Leo Aldo . ”
It was only then that John lowered his eyes . It was a long while before he sighed quietly with a strange tone, “That’s really an extraordinary feat . ”
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In the end, they finally asked which century John was in . The mysterious Mr . Cleric told them without fear of hiding anything—in his previous moment, he was still battling the Black Robes . This made his identity become baffling again . The Rebellion of the Black Robes was an age of extreme chaos . Archbishop Aldo even personally joined in the war and there were at least five or six times the Cleric Knight were appointed, having had on the battlefield one after another . In the end, there wasn’t even enough time to register the names of the successors in the records .
“Rank 1 is also called the Devil Rank . ” Roy thought that mentioning his own time period discomforted this Mr . Cleric, so in consideration, he added on, “Which is to say that they are capable of commanding other Decays to do their bidding . Therefore, the legendary ‘Satan’ is also a Decay of the Devil Rank . But it was ranked at the very top of the Devil Rank, as it can control all of the Devil-ranked Decays . ”
“Correct . ” John came back to reality, swiftly stuffing a piece of chocolate into his mouth . Unfortunately, this piece happened to have a giant jade green center . The heavy peppermint taste instantly made his facial features scrunch up . “I actually ate toothpass!”
That mouthful of spicy foam in the early morning was still fresh in his memory .
“I’m guessing that you wanted to say toothpaste,” Jel reminded him in goodwill .
John coughed drily, blinking his eyes, as he sat upright, attempting to change the topic . “Alright, let’s continue . Abyss Dholes aren’t a species considered to be hard to deal with . Their movements are fast and their claws are their sharp weapons . They normally show up in packs and love to eat human hearts . In general, any human heart is their food, but Abyss Dholes are most easily attracted to ‘hearts filled with jealousy’ . I think you guys know that no matter if they’re beautiful or dark, humans’ strong emotions are very delicious to these monsters . ”
“There’s only one wound on Kelson’s body . ” Jel pondered and said, “Is it possible that only one Abyss Dhole attacked him?”
“We cannot be certain . ” Roy shook his head . “And even if there’s only one, it shouldn’t appear on the main roads . There are no prior instances of Devil-ranked Decoys bypassing the Barrier . ”
Right at this time, the sound of the summoning drum rang from Jel, Roy and Amy at the same time . John widened his eyes, looking left and right for the source of the sound . Then, he noticed that Jel fished out a small, flat black box from his pocket, tapping the top surface . The small box’s surface suddenly lit up .
John’s arm that was close to Jel uncontrollably tensed up, as though he was given a shock .
“It’s a mail from the current Archbishop . ” Jel looked at him, smiling . “I’ve already reported about the Abyss Dhole . He’s probably hurrying back to start a meeting—I’ve also told him about you . I hope you won’t mind it . But the Archbishop said that he will visit you personally . ”
Who knew if John registered these words, but in any case, his eyes lingered fixedly on the cellphone on Jel’s hand and he studied it for a while before asking with curious enthusiasm . “Is the mail you’re talking about in this?”
“Yes . ”
“Woah…” The emerald-eyed man gasped like a kid . “How amazing . How did you stuff it in there?”
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“I think, through a wireless connection,” Jel explained . John’s hair was very good, very smooth, tied properly by this energetic man with a new ribbon . This made him seem even younger by some, to seem practically around the same age as Evan—but Jel strangely thought that there were truly big differences between individuals . “You can contact others with this . You can send words and also talk to someone else through this . ”
“What? You can talk? You mean with people at another location?”
“Yes, the other party can hear what you say . There’s no need to yell your lungs out . ” Jel draped his jacket over himself and stood up, giving Evan a credit card and a set of car keys . “We have to make a trip back to the Temple . Evan, can you stay and take care of Mr . Smith? I think he’ll require some clothes and daily necessities . If possible, perhaps you can take him around the neighbourhood too?”
“Yes! Advisor Shelton! I will complete this assignment!” The suddenly agitated Evan gave John a shock—very few people would yell right at his ear .
Roy can’t even be bothered to roll his eyes at him .
“Yeah . ” The harsh Instructor Margarett carelessly mocked, “You’ll find that this ‘assignment’ is much more suited for you than dealing with a Decay . A hunter with blood phobia, really, what the Hell—if you survive the internship period, remember to get the hell to my place for a makeup exam . ”
At the side, Amy suddenly remembered something, screaming, “Oh! I still haven’t put on my makeup! Cursed Jel, you actually allowed me to face Lord Roy with my bare face!”
Then, before even waiting for the others’ gaze to rest on his face, Amy screamed and ran away, holding his face as if it was splashed with sulfuric acid .
Jel, “…”
“If he noticed, he already faced you with that bare face for an entire thirteen hours,” Jel told Roy, “Also, I think that if he didn’t make himself seem so much like a traffic light, he would look much easier on the eyes, what do you think?”
The young scholar’s brows were knitted into a fried dough twist, and he looked like he was about to erupt in anger from the implication behind the words of his good friend . He began to complain in a low voice, “What does that expression of yours mean? You think I should be interested in a gaudy color palette? Even if he drew his eyes into a raccoon’s, it has nothing to do with me either, all right? Nothing . At . All!”
But his boiling rage suddenly calmed down—when Roy turned his head to face John, he already looked impeccably polite, “I apologize for the embarrassing display . I hope you’ll have an enjoyable afternoon . ”
After finishing, he turned around and left . His strides were very big . In Jel’s laughter, he left with a back that turned angry from embarrassment .
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Rash, hectic footsteps rang from upstairs . Amy who armed himself all the way to his teeth in the shortest time possible lifted the edges of his skirt, sprinting down with a fragrance that could even overwhelm and kill cockroaches . “Beloved Lord Roy, wait for me!”
John, “Achoo–”
Evan, “Achoo–”
Amy seemed to have remembered something, halting when he passed by John . Then, he pulled him closer by the neck, and gave his face a big kiss with a bloodied mouth at lightning speed . “Remember to eat your medicine, little handsome boy . Mommy will check when I come back tonight . ”
John numbly wiped his face with a hand, smearing giant traces right out of a crime scene from the lipstick Amy left on him .
“Healer Berg is very enthusiastic . ” Evan gave a dry laugh . “But it’s best if you wash your face first . ”
John, “Achoo!”
The author has something to say:
The little gong has ah-ppeared = =
Speaking of which, a lot of comments suddenly disappeared mysteriously . Wat situation could dis be
Translator Note:
[1]: 蔷薇, refers to a flower of the rose family, rosa multiflora, not to be confused with the typical red rose .
[2]: 天人永隔, literally means an eternal separation in the Heavens and Human realm, referring to a separation as one of you is dead and the other is still alive .
[3]: 诈尸, refers to a superstition that a corpse will suddenly move after death, usually after the burial of a corpse .