He and It Chapter 92: Dark Sky Sanctuary (27)

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Chapter 92: Dark Sky Sanctuary (27)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

It was like turning back the clock. Yu Mengzhou seemed to have returned to those nights of the past – the cave was simple, the night air was cold, and the herd was sprawled out beside him, all trying to get next to him with their intact, warm fur. To huddle with him despite the sharp and bone-chilling saddle blankets that were sewn on their bodies. To be with him.

The difference now was that they were all centaurs. Apart from the harness that symbolized that they were war machines, they had already each donned the majesty of a Prince, while the ground on which they lay wasn’t hard and rugged rock, but a luxurious carpet in shades of green.

“…Anyway, I just cycled through that place called Memory Dreams so many times.” Yu Mengzhou leaned against Gao’er’s belly, ran his hand down the fur on Sevenfold Eyes’ horse’s back, one lazy stroke at a time, as he slipped into remembrance. “It wasn’t until the very last time that I broke the cycle and realized that it was a dream.”

“And how exactly did you break it?” Bloody Butcher was lying comfortably beside Yu Mengzhou’s leg, and was a far cry from his earlier grumpy demeanor. His expression was sweet and innocent.

Yu Mengzhou smiled shyly. “Because Falchion once asked me, if you guys came back to the human world with me, would I say yes.”

Noel said grimly, “You didn’t.”

“–Yes, I didn’t at the time.” Yu Mengzhou scratched his head. “I just stated, after you have your grudges and revenge addressed, we’ll discuss it again. But in the last memory loop, I thought about it for an unprecedented moment, and realized that I didn’t seem to have any reason to refuse, right? I’d be happy if you guys stayed with me, and you’d be happy if I stayed with you, so since everyone is happy to do it, what reason do I have to say no?”

Deathstar arched his back nervously. “So you…”

“Yes. I promised in my dream, if this is over and you guys are still willing to go live on earth with me, then we’ll go together.” Yu Mengzhou smiled. “Maybe it’s because I made a different choice this time, but after that, I woke up. Really woke up.”

The commission was a heavenly blessing! Not only had their person returned alive and well, but he had also promised to take them back to his old home in the human realm with him! The Princes were so happy that they were about to turn on vibration mode, but Yu Mengzhou then changed the subject, “Then I saw that Demon Lord called The Weaver. You guys still remember him, don’t you? Funny enough, he ran and hid in my dream world…”

“The Weaver.” Bloody Butcher snapped his head up. “He’s not dead?”

“I told you he wasn’t dead! That sly old thing, how dare he come into your dreams…Did he see it all? Your memories?” Sevenfold Eyes was furious. “Not even I…I mean we’ve worked our asses off trying to find you, and he actually went straight to your Memory dreams!”

Noel slurred, “I’m gonna gouge his eyes out one by one…”

“Hey!” Yu Mengzhou hastily raised his hands. “Don’t do that! I have a contract with him. He gave me magic power to help me turn from a spirit body to a human form again, and I promised him that I would convince you guys to carve out a piece of land for him to retire on. How else could I have come out to see you guys in the first place?”

“Oh,” Bloody Butcher said honestly, then lay back down on his lap. “That’s fine then. No problem.”

Sevenfold Eyes didn’t think twice, “Well, let him off the hook this time.”

” Retirement? It’s okay to give him that concession.”

Yu Mengzhou was really amused by them as he said, “That’s pretty much it for me. What about you guys?”

The Demon Horses looked at each other.

Radiant Angel said, “In short, the battle’s pretty much at a stand still.”

“In other words, they destroy, we protect…both sides lose and win, and we can’t really fight hand to hand anyway because there’s always the old days,” Bloody Butcher said. Even though the herd had been split for so long, he still referred to Falchion as the chief, “It’s just that with the chief on the other side, we’re one move behind in the end.”

Deathstar shrugged his horns and straightened up. “He is the original realm, and all of the main powers we have had since then have been split off from him. It’s a good thing I’m Death and Radiant Angel is Sky, because the two of us together can barely equal him. Unfortunately, the rest of them are a bit more dowdy.”

The remaining four centaurs immediately flared up, but just as they were about to snap, Yu Mengzhou gave Deathstar another knock on the side of the head.

“Don’t go so far as to say that.”

The feeling of having someone to back you up was back! Other than Deathstar who bowed his head and admitted his mistake, the other centaurs were elated.

“Alright! Back to the topic.” Yu Mengzhou turned the conversation in the right direction. “I want to see Falchion. What are you guys’ methods?”

The lively atmosphere in the room gradually fell silent. The Princes did a you-look-at-me, I-look-at-him, and a common sense of embarrassment and reluctance flowed stealthily through their gazes.

“No, he will eat you alive!” No one was willing to open their mouths at the moment, so it was Deathstar who took the lead and bluntly expressed his refusal. “He’s giving death the creeps right now, and that is no joke.”

Yu Mengzhou was aghast. “Eat me alive? That’s not funny!”

I hope it’s a “no-brainer” too, Radiant Angel thought with mixed feelings as he asked, “What are you going to say to him if you see him?”

“I intend to…” Yu Mengzhou pondered for a long time with difficulty, then still sighed. “I’m not sure, eh. Maybe I’ll punch him first to make him sober up, and then say that I forgive him, so that he doesn’t feel guilty anymore?”

The herd went even more silent.

Gao’er gave Radiant Angel a silent wink: Do you think the human knows…?

With that reaction, of course, no. Radiant Angel shook his head with an unusually small, and well, definite no.

“Ahem. This is still a matter to be considered in the long run, not rushed,” Noel cleared his throat and changed the topic. “I can think of two options first: One, we initiate peace talks, pick a location, bring you there for the appointment, and if anything really goes wrong, we can both stop Falchion; Two, through the neutral Blasphe, who will pull some strings, first put out the word in the royal capital that we might have found you, and then use silence as a deterrent to ensures your safety.”

“Either that or I’ll see them on the battlefield!” Bloody Butcher exclaimed. “Ha! I’ll make Ether cry out in pain and beg for mercy on his knees!”

“–or,” Gao’er calmly pushed aside Bloody Butcher’s impulsive speech. “Or, we’ll get through to Blasphe first, then I’ll take you to the royal capital and sneak a glimpse of Falchion’s current situation. Then you can make a decision. How about it?”

Yu Mengzhou sealed the deal. “Hey, I think this method is quite good.”

With his affirmation, the secret envoys sent to the royal capital were immediately mobilized, and began to infiltrate the palace. Bloody Butcher manipulated the probability of war, Radiant Angel monitored the movements of the past few days from a high altitude, while the rest of them were busy with the safety and security of the human. However, Yu Mengzhou slipped away and turned into the most idle of them all, as he was determined to do something.

“Sevenfold Eyes!” He beckoned towards the centaur. “You come.”

Immediately, the Prince who had solved the mystery, trotted all the way over, “da-da-da.”

“What’s the matter?” Covered by the silk cloth, where Yu Mengzhou couldn’t see, his eyes shone brightly. “Is there something you need me to do?”

Yu Mengzhou said in a low voice, “Your hooves…”

He pointed to Sevenfold Eyes’ hooves. He had seen it when he arrived. The twenty spell spikes that symbolized Angola’s evil mastery were still firmly set in the top of the hoof wall; it felt like they hadn’t moved at all.

“I remember Falchion saying that as soon as Angola died, the spell spikes would fall off as well, so why are yours still there?”

Sevenfold Eyes admitted, “Yes, after Angola’s annihilation, the power he took from us returned to us, so the spell nails no longer have any effect on us. They were kept only because…”

The centaur lowered his head as he unconsciously plowed the ground, and deliberated for a long while. “Because with them, we at least had the illusion in our hearts that sooner or later, one day, you’d still come back, and continue to happily do your unfinished business.”

For a long while, Yu Mengzhou didn’t speak.

“…Here.” He grabbed Sevenfold Eyes by the arm. “My tools. Do you all still have them?”

“The original ones were left at Falchion’s!” Instantly realizing what he was up to, Sevenfold Eyes hurriedly replied, then muttered in dissatisfaction. “He wouldn’t let us take them with us.”

Yu Mengzhou thought it was funny. He pulled Sevenfold Eyes along, and probed room after room, while he said, “It doesn’t have to be particularly specialized. Just a small knife that fits, a pair of pliers, and a pair of blunt scissors…A lot of tools can be used as temporary substitutes provided they don’t hurt the hooves.”

As he was pulled along by the human, Sevenfold Eyes twisted his snake’s tail happily. “Actually, we tried to have an artisan replicate your implements, we just didn’t know if they’d be good enough…”

“They will!” Yu Mengzhou said. “The point isn’t the tools for hoof trimming, it’s the technique for hoof trimming.”

It was also unknown to him how the raw materials of hell were produced, whether the smelted metals were harder and lighter than alloys. As he stood among the many hoof trimming instruments that were so diverse that they almost covered a wall, Yu Mengzhou selected the most competent ones, turned around, and patted his leg for Sevenfold Eyes, who was filled with anticipation. “Come on!”

As was customary in the past, he had the centaur curl up his hoof on a sturdy pivot point, as it was now conditioned to do.

It had been a while since he had touched a Demon Horse’s hooves. Yu Mengzhou couldn’t help but break the hoof surface and scrutinize it for a while.

The spell spike was forged from the tokens of the five Demon Lords of yesteryear, and in terms of rank, it was much higher than other torture devices. Therefore, after so many years, even with how much the Demon Horse, who he didn’t have the time to fix his hooves at the time, insisted on keeping them in their original state, only the spell nails remained intact on the horse’s hooves, while the rest of the devices were all ruined to a great extent.

“Let’s see…” He weighed the hoof trimming knife and gave it a tentative scrape. Probably due to the fact that it was made with raw materials from Hell, the knife couldn’t help but be a bit of a pain in the ass when it cut up the Prince’s hooves.

Fortunately, the person who used it was Yu Mengzhou, so he was able to overlook that small inconvenience.

The hoof’s keratin rustled to the ground, but the spell nails actually remained firm, with little sign of loosening.

Yu Mengzhou raised his eyebrows and teased, “The familiar feeling is back.”

He followed the old method, first digging out a gap around the copper wedge, and after he was almost done, he cupped his hand and shook it to see if it could be loosened.

“I’m going to push,” he said smoothly. “Tell me if it hurts…”

Halfway through his sentence, Yu Mengzhou suddenly realized that Sevenfold Eyes had long since ceased to be the Demon Horse that had suffered so much humiliation back then. Angola was dead, and he had reclaimed the form of one in power; one of the twelve Princes of the Demon Realm.

He was about to say something to jest when Sevenfold Eyes’ voice, low and hoarse, already called to him as he responded, “Well, if it hurts, I’ll talk to you.”

Yu Mengzhou laughed as he used the hoof-cutting pliers and continued to tap the tip delicately. After the wedge head had been pushed out of the hoof sole, he powered up and twisted it while he pried hard!

It must be said that even in his spiritual state, Yu Mengzhou still retained his natural strength, and Sevenfold Eyes’s lofty mountainous body couldn’t help but shudder as the first spell nail shot out with a bang, and made a small crater in the polished marble wall.

“That was a bit too much strength,” Yu Mengzhou said, embarrassed. “I’ll be lighter on the next one.”

One by one, he plucked away the legacy of Angola’s sins, and still soothed Sevenfold Eyes’ spine on the way, and coaxed him with gentle words as he had done before…It was as if Sevenfold Eyes was still the Demon Horse he had pitied in the past, and nothing had ever changed.

Five spell nails fell to the ground as he chipped away at the stale outer skin on Sevenfold Eyes’ hoof, then he used hoof cutters to clip off the sharp edges and trim the tips to a more rounded shape as well.

After the cutting step, he polished the hoof surface with a hoof file until it was smooth and even to the touch, and then Yu Mengzhou continued to polish the surrounding hoof wall.

He followed that process until all four hooves had their spell nails removed, then he sat down with a sense of relief, and dipped his brush into the clear ointment and carefully applied hoof oil. “Well,” Yu Mengzhou laughed. “I remember that time when you allowed Deathstar to cut in and I was supposed to fix your hooves the next day, but I didn’t realize that it had dragged on for so long…”

“So he owes me to this day,” Sevenfold Eyes’ voice was muffled. “And he deserves it.”

“Don’t be angry.” Yu Mengzhou was in a good mood. He had discovered another advantage of his spirit body, which was that he wouldn’t get tired and wouldn’t sweat. As long as he wanted to, it might not be a problem to run a marathon around the Demon Realm, “Now that I’m back, if anyone has any disputes, I can mediate right away…Uh, but I still want to ask. Are you guys sure that you want to come back to earth with me?”

Sevenfold Eyes turned his head sharply in surprise, and almost jerked his hoof out of Yu Mengzhou’s hand. “Of course! Of course we are willing! Why do you ask? Did someone say something to you? I knew it! There are quite a few self-righteous fiddlers in the palace rooms. I must get them…”

“There’s no such thing, don’t think nonsense!” Yu Mengzhou cried, as he hastily interrupted his flustered threats. “What I meant was, life in a farmhouse is boring, and the conditions are rather average. There’s nothing with gold walls and silver tiles, and every day is just planting flowers, hoeing grass and so on…Ugh. When I think about it, I worry about whether you guys will be able to adapt to that kind of life.”

Sevenfold Eyes was relieved to learn that no demonic creature dared to come to the human to influence them. He whispered, “Well, you shouldn’t think twice. Even the most humble conditions are a million times superior to when we were held hostage by Angola. As for the mundane life…Isn’t it boring to be here, day in and day out, fighting with the opposite side?”

Yu Mengzhou finished brushing the oil, so he put down those hooves and suddenly looked at the doorway where Noel stood, his gaze grim and his eyes tearful.

“My…Didn’t fix them either…” Noel sighed mournfully. “Now that everyone’s had their hooves trimmed, I’m the only one left here…am I isolated…?”

Sevenfold Eyes was immediately expressionless, with a gaze of utter contempt under the ribbons, but Yu Mengzhou hurriedly put down his hoof brush and rushed over to comfort Noel.

“It won’t! It’s because it was Sevenfold Eyes’ turn before, but Deathstar cut in the queue and it was delayed for so long, so I wanted to fix it for him first, not to isolate you!”

Noel made a sad crying face and hugged Yu Mengzhou to his chest in an incredibly smooth manner. “I just wanted to come here to tell you that Blasphe agreed to meet up. It’s tonight, but seeing that Sevenfold Eyes has finished fixing his hooves, it’s hard for me to feel bad in my heart, ugh…”

With that, he gave Sevenfold Eyes a smug look, turned around and headed outside.

Sevenfold Eyes, “…”

Damn, that familiar feeling had come back.

.

It was night, and after everything was ready, Yu Mengzhou sat sideways on Gao’er’s back and looked behind him at the centaurs.

“You must be careful,” Radiant Angel urged relentlessly. “With Gao’er around, the only one you have to watch out for is Falchion. Don’t risk running out to meet him until the time is right, okay?”

“Watch out for Striker too, he’s a little crazy,” Bloody Butcher interjected. “And Crusade. One of them is crazy in the open, and the other is crazy in the shadows. It’s best to avoid them if you can. And forget about Ether, that retard. With his guts, a thousand times he wouldn’t accomplish anything. He’ll never make it.”

“Okay,” Yu Mengzhou grabbed Gao’er nervously. “I’m just going to see what’s going on. I won’t do anything rash.”

It was hard to tell, the same thought echoed through the minds of all the Princes present, you could even kill Angola on impulse, so who knows what else you could do.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Gao’er said. “You just need to disguise yourselves as if I were there.”

His gray-black fur suddenly rippled in leaps and bounds, and darkness shrouded him silently as he completely isolated Yu Mengzhou’s form and scent. Taking the human with him, Gao’er transformed into the ubiquitous mists of the night sky, then instantly moved millions of miles, as he swiftly swept towards the heart of Hell.

The flow of time blurred at the same time. Because of his anxiety, Yu Mengzhou tightly grasped Gao’er’s waist as he asked in a small voice, “Falchion’s situation…is it really that bad?”

After a long silence, Gao’er’s muffled reply came over the wind, “There is no worst, only worse. He’s determined to go his own way, and there’s nothing any of us can do to help him.”

Radiant Angel maneuvered the heavy clouds through the sky with precision, and the next second the moonlight was obscured. Gao’er slid through a gap in the royal capital’s boundaries and coalesced on the ground as a rushing black river that burrowed swiftly into a dark tunnel. This was the spot where Blasphe had promised to meet him.

“Here we are,” Gao’er said.

He didn’t remove the concealing barrier, and Yu Mengzhou didn’t utter a word. In the almost stagnant silence he vaguely sensed a tall figure slowly rising from in front of them, while his horse’s hooves treaded heavily on the ground.

“‘We’? I don’t see any ‘we’.” Blasphe’s whisper was silky smooth. “Gao’er, it was only after you vouched with your power that you had a hundred thousand urgent matters that I agreed to meet with you here. As you well know, don’t you, I am only an agent of the throne. A neutral cannot take sides without a special reason…Or is it that you’ve prepared some ploy and intend to drag me down into this mess?”

He didn’t move, but as he surveyed his former companion, his blood brother, Blasphe’s demeanor suddenly took a subtle turn.

Gao’er…It was strange.

He was more relaxed. Gentler, softer. If he had not been familiar with his nature, Blasphe would have assumed that Gao’er was a good-natured compatriot.

His eyes shone more brightly, and there was an unconscious joy in his body. Even his fur had taken on the smoothness of a well-groomed coat…Who combed his fur?

“What has happened to you?” Blasphe judged with certainty. “What has made you so relaxed, brother?”

As he looked at him, Gao’er smiled unexpectedly.

He withdrew the veil of shadows and divulged the shimmering light of a sinless soul.

Yu Mengzhou poked his head out and greeted Blasphe happily and urgently, “Hey, long time no see!”

Compared to the Centaur Princes in the Golden Palace, it must be said that Blasphe’s attire was a bit more grand and formal. The hem of his fancy dress was draped over the back of his horse back. His black hair was tied up, and perhaps he was in a hurry to get to an appointment,  because he was grasping a roll of parchment and he wore chain lenses made of twisted gold wire on his face.

As he stared at Yu Mengzhou, he froze, his narrow eyes wide.

“You…You?” He stammered out two words. When he was still in horse form, his tongue was longer than that any other Demon Horse, and it remained the same in his human form. At that moment, the tip of his blood-red tongue lingered on his pale thin lips, frozen in place.

“Sorry for making you wait so long.” Yu Mengzhou jumped off his mount and took the initiative to walk towards him. “How are you…Alright?”

He stared at him as he took a step closer, then Blasphe jerked back that tongue and rushed up to Yu Mengzhou and hugged him so hard that he nearly crushed the human into a roll.

“I’m not okay!” He slammed the parchment hard, and stomped his glasses to the ground. “I’m not good at all…Not good!”

Blasphe choked, “No one’s been good since you left…How did you get back? God, it’s been too long! We’ve been looking for you for years…”

“It’s a bit complicated.” Yu Mengzhou patted him vigorously on the back, and hugged him just as tightly. “But all in all I’m back! Well, though still in the form of a soul…”

“Soul?” Blasphe gazed at him intently, eyes red. “Yes, indeed, you’re still in soul form…so who imbued you with magic…? Radiant Angel, Deathstar, or one from their camp?”

Oh well, it was different talking to someone who knows what he’s talking about. Yu Mengzhou scratched his head and smiled, “It was The Weaver. I asked him for help!”

Gao’er, watching from the side, intentionally or unintentionally tugged Yu Mengzhou from Blasphe’s arms. “Well, don’t hug him so tightly. Let him sit down first, and he’ll talk to you slowly…”

“Fuck off!” Blasphe hissed at him, and continued to stubbornly cling to the human. “I don’t need to hear any stories! It’s only important that he’s back!”

Blasphe hugged him tightly, one person and one horse for half a day, before he barely calmed down and asked Yu Mengzhou, “So, what did you want to do this time when you came here?”

Even though he had a premonition in his mind, Blasphe still asked. He needed Yu Mengzhou’s personal answer.

“I want to see Falchion,” Yu Mengzhou said bluntly. “I want to see how he’s really doing now.”

Blasphe closed his lips tightly, and didn’t immediately reply.

When he saw his expression, Yu Mengzhou asked, “Is it inconvenient?”

“…No, as long as it is your will.” The Prince who ruled the court shook his head. “Come with me. Gao’er, cover him up properly.”

“Uh-huh. I certainly understand.”

Following Blasphe’s lead, they made their way through dark, deep halls; through corridors with sharp, sharp architecture; through demonic armed guards standing statuesque and silent; with attendants that drifted silently like ghosts. Blasphe stepped on thick black carpets and entered an overlapping, tired set of chambers, then quietly opened a dark window.

Come on, move gently, he gestured. Must not make a sound.

Yu Mengzhou didn’t make a sound, just nodded.

He came close to take a look, then suddenly froze.

Through the beautifully crafted and intricate window, what he saw was none other than Falchion’s sleeping quarters.

The candlelight in the chamber was dim, not even bright enough to illuminate the lava-colored veins that lit up the horns of the centaur. Falchion lay in the center with his eyes closed, dead silent as a cold rock carving.

He wore a crown, but Yu Mengzhou had never seen an emperor like that before. After hundreds of years, he still wore the sharp saddle blanket that symbolized his slavery, scarred and burdened with the implements of cruelty that surrounded him.

 

He was an emperor and a prisoner, and as he lay in that incredibly large and barren room it was more like a never-ending simmering of his sentence instead of being in power.