Chapter 55 (1/2)
“The moment the door drops, all guards will move out,” Vivian read as pointed at the last line of the runes. “This sentence is also written in runes. That’s weird.”
It was the first time Hao Ren was involved in such an ancient and puzzling scenario. He was stunned, feeling like he was in a Hollywood blockbuster. “Is it anything unusual? Perhaps the person who wrote this had obsessive-compulsive disorder. He felt uncomfortable forcing himself to insert a line in English under the runes. Besides, you wouldn’t understand the English sentence even if it was written there,” said Hao Ren.
Vivian rolled her eyes and said, “Do you think the utility bill notice stuck on people’s doors would be written in ancient Latin? Who the heck would be able to read them? The Letta Runes are complicated and ever-changing. The runes can even have a certain impact on the learner’s mind in the process of learning. Average people are unable to handle it. Only demon hunters and ascetic monks with rock-hard minds are able to endure the impact. It is said that the Letta Runes are texts written for the spirits of heaven and earth as well as deities of a different dimension. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it won’t be used for humans let alone used to write a common message.”
“Could it be the guards weren’t common people?” Lily chipped in suddenly.
Vivian looked at the werewolf girl in surprise and praised her. “You’re quite smart, big dog!”
What Lily said sent a chill down his spine and he quickly looked around nervously. He swallowed hard and asked, “They used demon hunters as guards? Is it possible that this place was actually the demon hunters’ headquarters back then?”
“Demon hunters don’t have headquarters. They spread out freely across the world. Information on internal contact between branches of demon hunters is still a myth. However, the Lord of Yorkford must have gathered a large number of demon hunters here,” said Vivian as she floated lightly in the air, examining the runes and drawings on the stone wall more closely. “Look at these lines. They were carved in an extremely precise and complicated way which allowed three groups of runes to take effect at the same time. This was done through the writing order and arrangement of runes. It’s a brilliant technique. The Lord of Yorkford was definitely not an ordinary nobleman. He was most probably a demon hunter who had already blended with the human species. I’ve seen things like this.”
Although Lily was also an ‘alien’, she was as confused as Hao Ren. Her mind was full of question marks at this point. She stepped forward and scratched the hard, stone wall. ” Hey old lady, can you stop showing off old stuff? Just tell us directly what the heck it’s for,” said Lily impatiently.
Vivian raised her voice instantaneously as she closed in to attack. It became chilly and the atmosphere was filled with a metallic smell of blood. “Who’s an old lady?!”
Hao Ren hurriedly dragged aside the wolf girl, who never thought things through before speaking. Then, he said, “Just ignore her. You’re the forever-17, beautiful girl from the Blood Clan, okay? Let’s focus on our business.”
“You keep protecting her.” Vivian exclaimed scornfully and gently landed beside Hao Ren. “The sentence patterns found in the runes are solely for the purpose of repression. It’s nothing aggressive, just a simple defense layer. And the third line of runes state that this is a crypt, which is repressing the ‘root of all evil’. It has been sealed forever. The stone wall can’t be opened without the power of the blood of Yorkford. Otherwise, one will be cursed by the demon in the crypt and—”
Before Vivian could finish speaking, a deep rumbling suddenly came out of nowhere and echoed through the crypt. Soon after, the ground started shaking violently; it got stronger and stronger. The walls around them created a horrible grinding noise. Dust and crushed stones kept falling from the top. The quake was only getting worse. Hao Ren lost his balance and immediately thought it was an earthquake! They were going to die in the ramshackle crypt.
The unknown, rumbling noise was becoming louder. It quickly reached an unbearable degree in a matter of a few seconds. It was like thunder. The moment Hao Ren closed his eyes and prepared to have his life flash by, it stopped abruptly.
The ‘earthquake’ had stopped and so did the weird sound. Only dust and gravel which occasionally fell from the top indicated that it was all not an illusion. Vivian floated up into the air the moment the quake started. She remained poised and unhurt. Lily protected herself in her own canine way immediately after the quake started. She laid down on the ground and protected her head with her hands. She was trembling fiercely from her head to her tail. When the quake stopped, Lily stood up sheepishly and giggled. “Was that an earthquake just now?”