Chapter Volume 4, The Lost Files of the Ancient Castle 9: Dark Sun, the Light Born in the Darkness (1/2)

Volume 4, The Lost Files of the Ancient Castle Chapter 9: Dark Sun, the Light Born in the Darkness

Translator: Raylight (proofread by Arcedemius & Trespasserby; C/E edited by lucathia)

“Young Master, inside the butler’s metal cabin, there’s his father’s photo, a photograph of a woman, a broken cell phone, and the portrait that you gave him. It’s really unbelievable for that butler to actually leave all those behind!”

Melody-jiě’s face was dark as she walked out of Charles-gē’s room, and she told An Xiang Ye that. At that moment, I immediately felt that it was impossible! However, An Xiang Ye instead just said, “Maybe he just doesn’t want them anymore.”

“Young Master! I found Mr. Butler’s phone! The phone had actually been crushed and thrown away! That butler! Even if he quit his job, would he crush the phone that you gave him?” Dell-gē exclaimed as he fussed over the details.

I was also shocked. Although I had not known Charles-gē for long, he was definitely not one to destroy things. However, An Xiang Ye said, “He doesn’t need a phone anymore, anyway.”

Ah Ye, do you really believe that Charles-gē is someone who would call to quit his job, merely say that he would pay the penalty fees, and disappear without even saying sorry?

In the end, I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing An Xiang Ye’s shoulders, shaking him and shouting at him fiercely, to see if I could wake him up more. Charles-gē must have been kidnapped! Even though no one came asking for a ransom… he must have been captured!

However, An Xiang Ye broke free, and he roared even louder than me, “If I find him, and he really just wants to leave me, and there isn’t any reason for it? Then, what should I do?”

Then, beat him up until he’s almost dead!

I answered without hesitation. If he really doesn’t have any reason at all, then he would at least deserve to be beaten up by you! What about it? Are you going to find Charles-gē or not?

“I…”

I really had no notion of how much time had passed. I was dragged out of the metal cage. I was thrown back in the metal cage. I smiled as I gazed at Avexila. I smiled as I gazed at Sadina. Though the two gave me completely different expressions in return, they both gave me pain. Avexila made my body hurt. Sadina made my heart hurt.

“Why do you not cry? What are you laughing at?”

Avexila became more and more irritable by the day. If it were not for Krell and Gong Feng Xiang taking turns to stop her, perhaps she would have murdered me long ago.

Gong Feng Xiang comforted Avexila for a long time, and then walked over. With her head lowered, she looked at me and sighed. “Why do you not cry? Young Master Charles, you sure are stubborn… You are already injured to this point. It should hurt a lot, right? Why don’t you cry a little? As long as you are willing to beg the Madam, I guarantee that she will hurt you a little less. Otherwise, if this continues, you will probably die.”

I looked at her, but I did not wish to speak. I did not even smile… Since I barely had the strength to smile anymore, I would rather save my smiles for Sadina.

“Beat him up harshly!” Avexila roared in rage, “I don’t want to see him smile again!”

“Madam, if we continue beating him, he really is going to die,” Gong Feng Xiang said, seeming to be put on the spot. She sighed and turned to yell, “Curtis, come over.”

Curtis walked over, following her orders. He stood right at my feet, and I looked at him. It was not done so intentionally, but I merely felt that I would rather look at him than at the others. I had originally thought that he would still be expressionless, as usual. However, his reaction was contrary to my expectations. He had lowered his head and shot a glance at me, and following that, he fixed his gaze on Gong Feng Xiang. His face, however, had turned extremely ashen.

I believe, my current appearance should probably look very frightening?

“Silver needle, silver whip, silver powder, stun baton…” Gong Feng Xiang put the items into his hands one-by-one. Then, she told Avexila, “Madam, let Curtis do the beating! He is human, so he does not have much strength. He won’t be able to kill Young Master Charles so easily. Moreover, if he’s the one beating him, Sadina would have to watch her grandson torture her beloved and would feel even more pain.”

“Very well, do it then!” Hearing the last few sentences, Avexila then agreed contentedly.

Gong Feng Xiang repeated her orders, but Curtis did not execute them immediately. He even said, “I am unable to beat him anymore. He is truly on the verge of dying.”

For a blood thrall, Curtis was really not obedient.

“That is not something for you to worry about,” Gong Feng Xiang said coldly. “Vampires don’t die that easily… Don’t hurt his neck, chest, and the arteries in his thighs.” She added on a little hesitantly.

Curtis nodded and squatted down with an ashen face. The torture devices scattered across the floor, and he chose from the few options with extremely slow movements. In the end, he picked up the silver needle. Rather than a silver needle, it was actually more of a silver rod, for its size was roughly the size of a knitting needle.

However, that was already the item that looked the least lethal within all the torture tools… Though to be truthful, for a vampire, rather than a silver needle that stabs into the body, a whip that only hits the skin is the least dangerous weapon. It is, however, true that a whip is more painful.

Curtis held the silver needle, and his gaze darted all over my body. However, he did not make a move even after a long time, and cold sweat beaded his face.

“Curtis!” Gong Feng Xiang shouted, displeased. “What are you doing? Hurry up and do it!”

“There are no places for me to do so.” Curtis quietly replied, “There are wounds everywhere.”

“That’s even better!” Gong Feng Xiang said impatiently, “Adding wounds on top of wounds is what makes it painful. Hurry up and do it! Don’t make me repeat myself for a third time!”

Curtis raised the silver needle, and hesitated for a moment. He then stabbed with much force, and the needle passed through my palm. I did not make a single sound, but Curtis was shaking violently, as though he were the one being stabbed through the palm by the needle.

“Do not worry,” I said with a smile.

Curtis froze. He stared at me in disbelief.

I tried my best to smile as I comforted him, “This really has nothing to do with you. It is all my fault. I have caused you to become a blood thrall, and I have caused you to be controlled by others. I have made you have to hurt me against your own will. You should hit me harshly. That is your right, and there is no need at all to feel guilty about it.

“I am terribly sorry, to have destroyed your entire life. I am really… truly apologetic.”

Once I said that, I shut my eyes tight, gritted my teeth, and made mental preparations for what was to come. No matter how painful it is, I must not make a single sound… But though I waited, the pain that I had imagined did not come. Instead, a few drops of water landed on my face… Am I already hurting so much that my sense of pain has numbed? That should not be water, so perhaps it is boiling silver?

I opened my eyes in confusion and was shocked to discover that Curtis was actually crying. His expression was pained, and though he was holding another torture tool in his hands, he did not take action even after a long time. He forced out a few words, “Don’t smile… Your smile is even more painful than tears.”

“Enough, I have seen enough!” Avexila stood up and growled, “Feng Xiang, have your blood thrall destroy that damned smiling face. When his face has been mashed to a pulp, then he won’t be able to smile anymore!”

Once Avexila spoke those words, Curtis immediately stiffened. His expression seemed extremely afraid, as though the one who was about to become disfigured was actually him and not me.

“Madam!”

Gong Feng Xiang did not utter the order. Instead, she said joyously, “Our prey, E.X., has finally arrived.”

… X?

Hearing that, Avexila’s attention was completely diverted away. She no longer paid Curtis and me any mind, and immediately started discussing with the people around her regarding the situation as well as the various ambush plans.

At this time, Gong Feng Xiang commanded, “Curtis, drag Young Master Charles back into the cage, then follow in after him.”

“Understood.”

Curtis picked me up. Because the action jostled all of the wounds on my body, I could not help but make a sound. After a pause, his movements became gentler.

“Thank you.”

After being put on the ground, I struggled to crawl up. However, the pain and my lack of strength made this simple motion abnormally difficult…

“What are you doing? Your injuries are so serious, yet you are still moving around!” Sadina and Curtis actually spoke in unison.

“… I just wanted to be able to see a little better.”

The two of them fell silent, and then they helped me up together. They leaned my upper body against Sadina, so I could see the situation outside the cage clearly. There were many non-humans moving around outside, and there were ambushes set up all around the place. The situation seemed a little chaotic.

I said softly, “Sadina, if there is an opportunity, I will find a way to break the cage. At that time, take Curtis and go. Do not think about bringing me along. You can come back and save me after you escape.”

“This fellow is very worrisome, right?”

I froze, and turned my head slightly, only to realize that she was actually asking Curtis. Moreover, Curtis actually nodded his head.

Sadina lamented, “Sigh! Cousin, not only did you not change in appearance, even your personality has not changed at all, as though a hundred years was like a day to you. For you to make growth, it probably wouldn’t happen even after you become a great-great-great grand uncle.”

“… Did I say something wrong?”

I did not expect that she would actually reply. “You said many things wrong! You left home at the age of eighteen. You put it fancily as falling from grace. But actually, it was because your father had a son out of wedlock, and his child was even a vampire. The family members had vehemently opposed him, and even protested his receiving the position of the next family head. That was why you left him. You actually found an excuse and said something about how you felt out of place among humans, and so you were going to become a degenerate… Did you know? When your father mentioned this to me, as he talked about how you actually treated going to the bar to drink every night and occasionally finding a woman for a one-night-stand as ’falling from grace,’ he was about to laugh himself silly! Degenerate, my ass!”

“…” Sadina, you are already over eighty years old. Could you speak in a fashion suitable for an eighty-year-old?

“Ten years after you had accepted the position of family head, you found another whole lot of excuses to leave the family! Actually, it was totally because at that time, a lot of influential forces had found out that the family head of the Elysees was a vampire. The family had received a lot of pressure from various places, and that was why you chose to leave! But you used the excuse that you were not contributing to the family, and so you didn’t want to latch onto the seat!

“Also, when you left me. Though you say that it’s because you don’t want to see me die of old age, what you were more reluctant to do was to actually make me watch as you never change, while I age day by day, right? You did not turn me into a vampire, because you could already tell, right? You could tell that I don’t want to live forever, at all… But you said that you don’t believe in forever, and you don’t want us to break up in the future because we stopped loving each other.”

As she scolded me, Sadina started crying. I could not tell whether it was out of fondness or her cursing, as she continued, “You bastard, stop always being so self-righteously thoughtful of others, and stop taking on all of the mistakes and pain by yourself.”

I quickly explained, “The reason I left you was truly because I did not want to watch you die of old age!”

“Then, what about the other reasons I spoke of? Did you really not have those intentions?”

“… The reason I left the young master is truly because I did not want to watch him die of old age! Honestly!”

“Don’t think that you can avoid answering by changing the topic! Idiot!”

Pfft! Curtis suddenly laughed, but he immediately reverted back to his expressionless self.

Sadina reached out a hand, and as she brushed my messy hair, she said, “Now you are telling us to go on ahead. Do you think that this time, Avexila would really wait for me to come back and save you?”

“Sadina, I…” Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest and nearly could not breathe.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, a little frantic.

“Nothing—speaking makes my neck, chest, and abdomen hurt a lot.” Halfway through my words, Sadina’s glare at me had become even scarier than Avexila’s. Therefore, I could only change my words in the middle and report the truth.

“Then, don’t speak anymore. You’re banned from speaking!”

I froze for a moment. I no longer advised her to escape. I merely lay in her lap quietly, as I felt her hands stroke my hair… If I could be a little more selfish, I would really want to pass away now.

“E.X., what an honor for you to visit!”

Avexila shouted loudly. At the same time, a shadow appeared at the entrance and walked in… It was really X.

Why did you come here? Even if you really had been tricked into coming here, you ought to have run away the moment you discovered that something was wrong. You should not have come in obediently like that. Did you not tell me before that there was someone that you must protect, and thus, you cannot die no matter what?

Yet again, another person I have brought harm to.

The doors immediately closed once X stepped in. Krell stood beside the door, along with about ten vampires. Avexila sat on the throne in the great hall, and at her side was Gong Feng Xiang. At the two sides of the great hall, many more lay in ambush… In comparison, X stood alone at the center of the great hall, looking very isolated.

However, he did not seem fazed at all. He merely stared at me directly, his face turning dark. He did not say a single word to me. He only turned to face Avexila, giving a cold laugh as he said, “This time, you are all truly dead meat. To turn Endelis into such a state, his young master will definitely not forgive you all.”

“Young Master An? He won’t know about this at all.” Gong Feng Xiang smiled as she said, “Our Young Master Charles has quit his job by the rules! If he doesn’t want to be his butler anymore, what can Young Master An do?”

“Oh?” X said indifferently, “This is sure strange. It was his young master who grabbed my collar and cursed, ‘It’s your fault that Charles has been captured. Go and open your email right now to see if there’s a ransom letter.’ Only then did I check my email.”

Young Master! A small spark of hope ignited in my heart.

“Even if he knows, so what?” Avexila stood up. She gave a cold laugh and said, “Even if he knows, your team will just grow from one person to two. I have an entire clan! The two of you could never resist a whole vampire clan.”

X said calmly, “I am alone. That is true. However, that is not the case for that young master.”

“What do you mean—”

Gong Feng Xiang was interrupted in the middle of her question. All the glass windows around the great hall suddenly imploded, the glass fragments falling in all directions. Many non-humans roared in anger as they were hit by the glass shards. Then, many shadowy figures came in from the windows—by darting in, jumping, flying, crashing in…

“He has roped a lot of people into coming here.” X said calmly, “Dark Sun is not me. He doesn’t lack anything, and that includes connections.”

The tremendous sound of an explosion suddenly boomed outside the front doors. Then, the two battered doors collapsed with a loud bang, revealing a slender figure. His figure was not muscular, but he was holding a giant weapon that looked extremely mismatched with his appearance. In his left hand, he held a rocket launcher. In his right, he raised his Death Scythe, the shaft even taller than him, and the blade wide enough to split a person in two in one swing.

With his back facing the light, his silhouette looked just like a grim reaper’s, an embodiment of complete destruction. Upon seeing such a person, I however, sincerely felt like I had been saved.

Dark Sun walked into the great hall. All of the people who had come in through the shattered windows on the two sides looked at him.

Melody, Bramble, Dell, May, Dragon Peace, First Wind, Ezart, Elian, the stern youngster that I had once seen beside the master. I even saw Poseidin, and there was also a shadow flying in circles outside the window, which I presumed was Mr. Stone.

Other than that, there were many others whose names I did not know. Though it had crossed my mind that they might have been the master’s subordinates, it looked like it was not the case. The expression they wore while looking at Dark Sun was definitely not one of a stranger’s.

At this point, Avexila laughed. She mocked, “So what even if you have more on your side? You are all merely humans. One human, two, or twenty, does it really make a difference?”

“Oh? Really?” X ridiculed, “I thought that there were no humans here.”

“I-I really am not human!”

Poseidin raised his hand and admitted ecstatically. X looked at him, and feigned an astonished face as he said, “Really? I thought that you were the only human here.”

Poseidin was speechless for a while, and then he gave a faint sigh and commented, “Actually, I had the same feeling just now…”

Dark Sun dragged his Death Scythe all the way inside the great hall, and as the Death Scythe drew across the ground, it emitted a subtle, sharp noise.

Avexila and the others did not react much. I believed that from the very beginning, they probably did not have the intent to use the three of us to threaten Dark Sun. The number of people that the young master had brought was roughly twenty. However, there were at least close to a hundred within the Endelis clan. They still had the vast advantage of numbers, and they were all non-humans while the others were merely human… However, they had greatly underestimated the “humans” of the present age.

Then, Dark Sun stopped and turned to look at me. The visor covered his face. I was unable to discern his expression. Following that, he turned to look at the person on the throne. In an enraged tone I had never heard him use before, he roared, “Avexila?”

Avexila gave a cold snort at that and did not answer. X murmured, “I did mention that he would go crazy.”

Dark Sun raised the Death Scythe and pointed it at Avexila. He then announced to everyone, “She is mine! No one interferes!”

“How brazen of you!”

Avexila agitatedly screamed, indignant. It was closely followed by Dragon Peace’s growl. With one fist, he sent a werewolf flying, and only then did the non-humans realize that something was off.

“Hey! Dragon Peace!” Ezart enthusiastically said, “Want to compete over who can defeat more of them?”

Dragon Peace instead rolled his eyes at him and growled, “You bastard who left early! Who wants to compete with you?”

Ezart was stunned and asked, “Who are you?”

“Aren!”

“Ah Ye, you actually didn’t tell me that Aren is Dragon Peace… Forget it, that fellow’s too far gone to hear anything.”

Dark Sun dashed toward Avexila with the Death Scythe raised. Roughly ten non-humans immediately went to stop him, but Dark Sun then leaped and rotated the Death Scythe non-stop in mid-air. The scythe turned into a lethal circle, and all the non-humans that came into contact with it had their limbs cut off. There was even someone who was cut at the waist. The great hall immediately turned into a slaughterhouse as blood, flesh, and limbs flew about. It was as if a red carpet had been rolled over the floor.