He and It Chapter 91: Dark Sky Sanctuary (26)

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Chapter 91: Dark Sky Sanctuary (26)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Yu Mengzhou didn’t know what to say, so he listened silently without saying anything.

As he held him in his arms, Radiant Angel flew through endless snow-white clouds. It was a far cry from the view from the ground. Here it was a sea of clouds and frosty mist, with an immaculate Golden Palace standing above the palest of heights. It would be a heavenly realm in the imagination of mankind, rather than the domain of a Prince of Hell.

Flocks and flocks of eagle-bodied demonic beasts flew through the clouds, and once they saw Radiant Angel’s true form, they respectfully crouched down their feathered bodies and pulled back their wings to land in the dispersing mist.

“Is that…a banshee?” asked Yu Mengzhou.

Radiant Angel casually glanced at his subjects. He was in an unprecedentedly good mood right now, and he didn’t feel disturbed about that race that would have previously caused him to lash out and relocate his anger to the point of death. He laughed easily, “No more banshees. After so many years of purification, a new herd has long since replaced them. Call them what you will.”

He straightened his features, then said, “As a matter of fact, the conflict at the beginning was far from intense. It’s just that Falchion…He’d gotten into a corner, you know. He could be considered the first and most important personification of the Demon Realm. He always thought that once he was free of the spell nails, he’d be able to wreak his vengeance on Angola, but it wasn’t to be.”

Radiant Angel involuntarily slowed his flight and whispered, “He always thought that the Demon Realm, which was two sides of him, wouldn’t pull you down to fight against Angola, so he knew nothing of it, and harbored a wild and foolish arrogance from start to finish. Even when he was crowned Emperor by the whole of the Demon Realm after you were gone, there was no song of joy on the coronation day, much less a feast, and when I went to see him, he just wept and told me that he felt that the throne and the scepter were drenched in your blood.”

“He refuses to forgive himself.” Radiant Angel gritted his teeth. “So do we.”

Yu Mengzhou grabbed his arm. “This isn’t right! Angola was ruthless enough to kill me, and I was acting in self-defense…Well maybe a bit of self-defense, but it’s not your fault, much less Falchion’s!”

“So what about the night you were taken?” Radiant Angel smiled bitterly. “That night, we were hypnotized by the Heart of the Demon Realm, and couldn’t perceive anything. Angola wanted you dead, but the Demon Realm wanted you dead even more. Two sides with opposing positions, when faced with you, fell in line.”

Yu Mengzhou’s heart was a bit chaotic. He took a deep breath and said, “Okay. I’ll talk about this after I see him. You continue.”

Radiant Angel hugged him a little tighter to his chest. The gorgeous Golden Palace was close at hand, but Yu Mengzhou had no appreciation for it.

“He’s changed. With too much anger that he can’t let out, it’s made his heart claustrophobic and horrible,” Radiant Angel said. “On the surface, he’s still the same calm and dignified chief he used to be, but in reality, when he nods solemnly to the other demons, he has no idea how much twisted murderous intent is boiling in his heart…Falchion employs the tyranny of random sampling, and just throws whatever is at hand against the map of the Demon Realm, and wherever they hit, there is a field of blood and fire and death, and no one is spared.”

“Demons are indeed cruel and merciless, the Archdemons in particular, but even they can’t understand Falchion’s intentions. They can kill to their heart’s content for pleasure, delve into the most twisted and dramatic play of torture, but Falchion…He is simply determined to destroy, and he hates every living thing in the Demon Realm equally, whether it be the most ancient of demons, or the weakest of ghosts, all are treated equally in his eyes.”

Radiant Angel landed on the platform of the Golden Palace and walked on a white carpet as bright as a lily that was spread out there.

“In the end, he told us that he would sacrifice the souls and blood of all of the entire Demon Realm to force a sacrifice for the fourteenth Demon Horse, ‘Time,’ to the Heart of the Demon Realm that gave birth to us. A group of the brothers eventually raised objections, and I was one of them.”

Radiant Angel smiled bitterly. “In fact, we all heard what you said to Ether that evening. You said that you were a man with no great ambition, you didn’t seek to be a Prince of any kind, you only wanted to fulfill your wish of having a farmhouse in which to spend your old age, and that you couldn’t live up to those other dreams.”

“Falchion is prepared to sacrifice the whole of Hell to redeem you, but how can a man like you afford to carry such a great sin?” the demon horse whispered painfully. “You wouldn’t forgive us. Even if you did come back, you definitely wouldn’t forgive us. I can’t…I can’t fail you…”

Yu Mengzhou’s fingers slowly tightened on his arm.

“Yes, you’re right. I’m really very happy that you think so,” he encouraged in relief. “Do you have any other Demon Horses here to support you?”

“There are,” Radiant Angel said. “Besides me, there are-“

“–you’re back?”

The door to the finely carved corridor opened with a loud bang, and a black-haired, black-eyed centaur approached with huge force. However, before Yu Mengzhou could get a good look at the other one, Radiant Angel quickly shoved him under his belly!

Yu Mengzhou, “…”

“What are you hiding…What is that smell?” Across from him, Deathstar’s expression suddenly grew grim as he delicately sniffed the air. “How, how does it smell…?”

Yu Mengzhou, “?”

Really, it was light and soft, like a cloud. It swirled wonderfully around the end of his nose, full of joy and sweet gentleness…Deathstar snapped. He stomped his front hooves in the air, and his voice was loud and frightening, “Have you found a human double?! Are you going to use this opportunity to assassinate Falchion with a double?!”

Yu Mengzhou, “????”

Deathstar, sometimes your brain circuits are really mesmerizing, as you get lost in the maze.

Radiant Angel said expressionlessly, “Suppose I say this is a double. Then can you quickly get out of my line of sight?”

A word quickly popped out of Deathstar’s mouth, “No.”

Radiant Angel sighed. He hesitated reluctantly for a long time, but still took Yu Mengzhou out from under his belly.

Yu Mengzhou smiled and waved apprehensively at Deathstar. He saw that the Prince of the Dead Realm’s brow was somber, and his face handsome. His upper body was bare, not draped in ornate jewels and ribbons, only a dark eye-shaped jewel set in the middle of his sternum, to symbolize death’s omnipresent gaze.

Radiant Angel took a deep breath, “This is…”

Deathstar stood like a wooden statue, as he stared blankly at Yu Mengzhou. He froze for a long time, then suddenly snatched the person up, put it into his arms and ran, “A double, huh? Mine!”

Radiant Angel was furious and chased after him, kicked him hard, and asked him to give him back. Yu Mengzhou stared at him with dead eyes as they struggled with each other. Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer, and hit Deathstar on the head with a “bang” sound.

“What kind of double do you think I am?!” Yu Mengzhou scolded. “It’s me, it’s really me! I’m back again, only now I’m in a soul state…Ahem, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you when everyone is here…”

Deathstar’s eyes were in a trance, as he looked at Yu Mengzhou, who worried that he had hit the centaur too hard and knocked him silly. Immediately after, he was then pinched around the waist by Deathstar’s hands and lifted high in the air.

“…It’s you,” the erstwhile Demon Horse murmured as he scrutinized the human’s face. “You’re back? You’re not leaving?”

Yu Mengzhou’s heart became sour and soft all of a sudden. He wasn’t angry anymore and didn’t care how weird the pose was. Instead he nodded solemnly to Deathstar, “Yes, I’m back and I’m not leaving.”

Deathstar violently hugged him in his arms. Radiant Angel also squeezed him from behind. Then, the two Princes of Hell acted like small children competing for their Lord’s attention. I squeeze him while I kick you in places Yu Mengzhou can’t see.

In the course of the chase, they had already run into the wide and magnificent front hall. There was the heavy sound of a door opening, then Bloody Butcher impatiently came out and said sternly, “Deathstar, I told you to call out for Radiant Angel. What the hell are you doing? The combat meeting’s about to start, and you want me to lose half-assed like last time, don’t you?!”

He didn’t expect that Deathstar and Radiant Angel would actually stiffen in unison and simultaneously turn their backs to him. The two tall centaurs cowered in a corner, huddled together in a very suspicious behavior.

“Are you two out of your minds?” Bloody Butcher said incredulously. “Getting that close is disgusting and makes my teeth itch.”

“Knock it off,” Noel said slowly as he poked his head out. “Bloody Butcher, cut it out. One defeat is nothing. After all, there’s Ether and Crusade on the other side, they’re two against one…”

“I don’t care who’s on the other side, I’m War!” Bloody Butcher yelled back grumpily. “War can’t control success or failure on the battlefield. Is that funny? I don’t think it’s funny, but the other side is just dying of fucking laughter!”

Deeper in the war room, Gao’er said wistfully, “Let him argue. It’s not easy to lose. After all, who would have thought that Crusade would parachute onto the battlefield.”

In an attempt to dissuade the fight, Sevenfold Eyes stepped out as well and whispered, “Never mind, let’s all cut the crap…Oooh! What are you two doing?”

Despite having his eyes shielded with spell-heavy ribbons, he could see that what Bloody Butcher had said was true; Deathstar and Radiant Angel were indeed cowering furtively in the corner in an extremely odd position.

“Well,” Radiant Angel said dejectedly as his nice alone time expired, “As you heard, that’s all the forces of the Demon Realm that are rebelling against Falchion…By the way, while Blasphe stays in Falchion’s royal capital, he’s the equivalent of a neutral agent of the court. According to him, someone has to take care of the boring political business.”

Sevenfold Eyes queried, “Radiant Angel, who are you talking to?”

“–with me.” Yu Mengzhou raised his hand and pushed his way out from between the two Demon Horses that were trying to hide him. “I know it’s been a long time, but…Hey, I returned as a soul! A surprise…right?”

The room was filled with dead silence. After a long time, Bloody Butcher choked out, “I’ll kill you both, if this is the fake ploy you’re using against the chief. I’ll kill you. I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

He couldn’t hide the sobbing in his voice. Yu Mengzhou tried to get closer to him, but the red-skinned Son of War, who looked like a stream of flames, retreated several steps in panic, not daring to reach out and touch Yu Mengzhou.

Yu Mengzhou sighed. He took a big step forward, opened his arms, hugged Bloody Butcher’s waist hard and dug his fingers into his burning fur.

“There!” he exclaimed. “A rare opportunity for a group hug! One hug and we’ll all still be family!”

Gao’er was the fastest, as he knocked aside the dumbfounded Sevenfold Eyes and the tangled up Noel, and practically sprinted forward to join Yu Mengzhou in a tight embrace. The other two parties reacted and similarly rushed forward, so excited and incoherent that they nearly burst into tears.

Well, it’s a good thing I’m a spirit body now. There’s no risk of being squashed, Yu Mengzhou thought, out of breath. There should be…? There isn’t one, is there?

Deathstar looked at the scene in front of him, of everyone hugging and crying, and mused, “I want to hug the human alone.”

Radiant Angel nodded, “Indeed.”

Deathstar said, “So we’re going to go up there and kick them out of the way to grab the human, right?”

 

Radiant Angel nodded, “Indeed.”