Chapter Sixty-Two: The Fall of the Crown

I could scarcely imagine why Legang had placed all his hopes in me, but I did not disappoint him.

The Governor naturally proceeded beyond the hundredth level. Legang’s authority allowed him to reach only the hundredth floor, and even that was due to the special authorization he had obtained from Missouri during this extraordinary period. The Arbiter guards assumed he was going to protect the Governor and did not stop him.

The place was tranquil and elegant, steeped in an antique charm. It felt as though we had stepped into an ancient courtyard surrounded by green hills and clear streams. Even the air was exceptionally fresh, naturally enough—the entire setting had been recreated through ancient technology.

“What do we do?” Legang asked.

“We need to find a shadow that leads directly to the darkness above.”

We looked up together at the eaves, shaped like outspread wings. A light happened to fall across them, casting a vast shadow over the ground.

“You’re up,” Legang said.

I shrouded the three of us in the Blood of Shadow, then sank into the darkness and entered another dimension.

I had expected to lose my bearings, but I did not. I knew which way was up, which way was down, left, and right. I even knew how to pursue our quarry. I had no need for Legang to catch the Governor’s scent—nor, of course, would there have been any scent to catch.

I knew where he would go. I was intimately familiar with the uppermost level of the Black Coffin.

It was the memory of Saint Longinus that guided me. Without doubt, he had been involved in the construction of the Black Coffin.

This was the highest level of the Black Coffin, yet it was not actually inside it. Like Henry’s mansion, this place was a wormhole—a secret world beyond our own.

The decorations resembled those of a medieval castle: brick walls, fireplaces, suits of knightly armor, weapon racks, murals, banners, wooden tables and chairs, and glass chandeliers. The room was enormous, like the ballroom of a palace.

The Governor came toward us with difficulty, limping badly. He recited an incantation, and a crack opened in the floor at the center of the hall. A crystal coffin rose from within it.

Inside lay a desiccated corpse clutching an exceedingly thick book.

The Governor’s face lit up with delight as he hurried toward the ancient corpse.

Legang stepped between the Governor and the corpse.

The Governor stared at him in shock, but he understood at once. Straightening his body and assuming an air of authority, he said, “I should have known. You sent me to find Bella, and it was not out of loyalty.”

Tanchi and I went to Legang’s side, taking up positions on either side of him. The Governor did not recognize Tanchi, but I removed my Ranger helmet. The Governor froze for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed.

“How did I fail to kill you back then, Sergeant Longinus?”

“You killed my brother and devoured his soul,” Legang said. “There is no greater hatred in this world, and no greater disgrace.”

The Governor laughed even harder. He went to the wine cabinet nearby and took out a bottle of red wine.

“I thought you had some other reason. This? Such a trivial little grudge? Oh, Legang, Legang, my child. I thought I had raised you splendidly, but you have disappointed me terribly.”

I drew my gun and shattered the bottle. The blood within splashed across the floor. He was an ancient monster, and I could not give him the slightest chance to recover.

The Governor raised both hands and sighed helplessly. “How rude. We are in the holiest place within the Black Coffin. Can’t you show a little chivalry?”

Legang replied, “I am a warrior of a savage people. I do not need many reasons to kill you, nor do I care what methods I use.”

Missouri pretended not to notice and glanced back at us with a teasing smile.

“How did you get in? I distinctly remember the door being securely locked the last time I came here.”

“Longinus can travel through shadows and cross between worlds,” Legang said.

Missouri snapped his fingers.

“Ah! That is what I call expertise. I was terribly mistaken, Sergeant. Someone as exceptional as you deserves the highest honors.”

He took a step toward us. Legang extended his long claws. I drew Mjolnir and the Fishbone Rifle, while Tanchi transformed into a demon.

Missouri spoke with exaggerated warmth. “Longinus, don’t be like this. There is still time to change your mind. How about this? I have decided to issue a new decree, granting you the title of duke and the noble bloodline of immortality. I can quietly kill Typhon and let you inherit all her wealth. You will become one of the Six Elders and my most trusted ally.”

His voice was filled with sincerity. He sounded like an old friend of mine, pleading with me to look after his puppy. His thoughts silently seeped into my mind. If I showed even the slightest hesitation, I would betray Legang irreversibly.

“Legang is my friend,” I replied. “Nothing can shake my friendship with him.”

Legang smiled. “That is my answer as well.”

Missouri’s smile faded. His face hardened.

“How childish. You two have played house with Michael for far too long. Everything you say and do is laughable.”

His gaze passed over our shoulders and fixed on the ancient corpse.

“Ancestor, could you do me a small favor?”

I was startled and turned around. The corpse had not moved at all. I immediately realized that I had been deceived.

Missouri lunged at Legang. In an instant, Legang transformed into a wolf and struck with his claws. Wrapped in blood armor, Missouri was knocked back.

“You were hiding your strength all along!” Missouri shouted. “Well done!”

“You fear fire, vampire,” Tanchi murmured. “Before my flames, you have nowhere to stand!”

His hands burst into flame, and two fan-shaped torrents of fire roared forth. Missouri leaped aside, and the floor blazed.

Suddenly, chills poured from both sides of the walls, extinguishing the flames. Tanchi clicked his tongue in frustration and spat out fire again, but a violent icy wind swept through the room, and the flames vanished once more.

Missouri laughed. “Demon, this is a sacred place. Did you think there would be no fire-suppression measures? Even the shoddy office buildings of the last century would never have allowed flames to run wild.”

“I am a demon of fire!” Tanchi roared. “How dare you compare my flames to an ordinary fire?”

He hurled fireballs one after another, but the magic within the room neutralized the flames in an instant.

“Legang!” Missouri shouted. “Where did you learn to enslave demons?”

“You guard the corpse,” Legang said. “Do not let him get close!”

His fur bristled as he lunged at Missouri like a mass of black flame. Missouri seized Legang by the wrist. A rapier flashed, and Legang let out a howl as a grievous wound opened across his chest. But he immediately raked his claws across Missouri, piercing his armor and ripping open his abdomen.

Missouri was disemboweled as well.

He lifted Legang and struck him twice, sending him flying.

“Even with only a tenth of my strength, I can deal with you easily enough, you beast!”

Legang landed on all fours, baring his teeth and growling furiously. His wounds began to heal, while Missouri’s remained open. That was Legang’s advantage. His technique and strength were still inferior to Missouri’s, but his endurance was now far greater.

“Legang, keep him occupied,” I said. “There is no need for us to hurry.”

Legang was far calmer and more resourceful than I was. He understood the situation better than anyone.

“Very well, very well,” Missouri replied. “I can escape at any moment, then have my guards deal with you three little nuisances.”

“If you could escape, you would have done so already,” Legang said. “Why waste your breath? You are afraid we will uncover the secret of this corpse.”

Missouri laughed. “Do you think that will be easy? Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to communicate with this ancestor? I can leave and summon reinforcements. It would not take ten minutes. What could you possibly accomplish by then?”

I shook my head. “You cannot leave. The mechanism that opens the exit is behind us.”

In an instant, Missouri’s face twisted into a savage expression. He charged with greater speed and ferocity. He was already at the end of his strength, yet he was still swift as a galloping horse.

Legang sprang forward and grappled with him. His claws sank into Missouri’s flesh, and his teeth tore through Missouri’s veins. Missouri roared in fury, lifted Legang high, and slammed him to the ground. Then he snapped the bones in Legang’s hand.

Tanchi and I instinctively moved to help, but Legang shouted, “I will deal with him alone! Stay back!”

Missouri locked an arm around Legang’s throat and laughed.

“Why, my beloved adopted son? Why have you suddenly become so stubborn? Why are you suddenly acting like a knight and a nobleman, insisting on fighting me alone? You realized that even if those two helped you, I would kill them in an instant, didn’t you?”

Suddenly, Legang transformed into a massive black panther. His tail coiled around Missouri’s throat and twisted violently.

There was a sharp crack.

Missouri cried out in pain. Legang tore himself free, slammed Missouri to the ground, and drove both claws into him again and again. Blood surged like a tide.

Missouri roared and kicked Legang away. Legang stepped gracefully against the wall, then landed before Missouri and began to pace toward him with slow, deliberate steps.

“When my brother died, his soul joined me,” Legang said. “I am not fighting alone. My brother’s spirit, from beyond the grave, is using my hands to bring an end to you, you wicked tyrant, you vile soul-devourer.”

He advanced on Missouri. Every strand of his fur inspired terror, as though one had fallen into a dark forest and could not know from which direction danger would emerge.

He was the predator now.

Missouri had become the prey.

Legang meant to carve terror into his very bones.

Missouri trembled. At last, he was afraid. In that moment, Legang’s spirit surpassed that of the Black Coffin’s king. He made Missouri think of death.

“Just because of one insignificant murder, you would kill me?” Missouri screamed. “I am a hero of humanity! Together with Charon Corporation, I built the Black Coffin to preserve the last spark of mankind. Under my leadership, human civilization will rise again and grow stronger! I am a great man! If you kill me, you will destroy humanity’s future! You will destroy the last hope of this world!”

“Humanity does not need vampires to save it,” Legang said. “We are nothing but parasites hiding among humans—a pack of cowards, true vampires in every sense of the word. You are the vampire among vampires, the disgrace of our kind. I will kill you, and the Black Coffin will continue onward.”

Missouri’s eyes widened. In despair, he pointed toward the ancient corpse.

“I will tell you the secret. I will tell you how to make the ancestor speak to you. He will grant you power. He can help you seize the supreme authority within the Black Coffin. He can help you kill any threat inside it. I am willing to abandon everything. I am willing to leave the Black Coffin and disappear from your sight forever.”

Legang charged. Like a cloud of black mist, he engulfed Missouri. He bit through Missouri’s throat and tore out his heart.

Missouri’s hideous screams made me cover my ears, but before long, he began to laugh bitterly.

“Drink... all my blood, Legang. Devour... my soul. Then... you will gain my power and inherit my... will.”

“That is the difference between us,” Legang said coldly. “I will grow stronger through my own efforts. I will not become a coward who feeds upon his own kin.”

He severed Missouri’s head.

The Governor of the Black Coffin’s body instantly burst into flames and burned away, leaving behind only a few insignificant scraps of ash.