Silent Crown

The entire sky was like a boiling pot of soup. Countless beams of rainbow streaked across the sky as terrifying booms continued to be heard. In the blink of an eye, the battle has been escalated to a level that ordinary people could no longer be able to participate in. Despite standing at such a long distance away, Ye Qingxuan was still able to sense the earth-shattering clashes through Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Countless music theories were produced and destroyed rapidly, just like constellations that have extinguished and reborn once again. The movements were stacked in one place while being entangled by countless melodies, as wind and fire were unleashed together seamlessly.

Despite facing the onslaught from two Scepters, Schubert’s rhythm remained steady and unchanged, like the resilient reef hidden within the crashing waves. The situation might seem chaotic, but it was slowly but surely becoming more controlled. When faced with such an enemy, the more one tried to attack, the more one would feel powerless, yet this was the only way. Once the initiative has been lost, one would lose the battle completely. Battles between man against two Scepters were as such.

“That’s really impressive.” Ye Qingxuan sighed softly before turning back, “Why is it that everyone likes to scare people from the back nowadays?”

There was nothing behind him. There was no one on the quiet and empty street either.

“I hate this kind of suspense.” Ye Qingxuan sighed and rubbed his eyebrows impatiently, “Or do you actually think you can really hide yourself from me? Naberius…”

Flames lit up and danced in the pair of eyes, creating a contrast against the fleeting black figure. An awkward laughter could be heard. Black smoke appeared out of thin air, wriggling like a snake. Soon after, the clear sounds of something expanding could be heard as bones and muscles and finally fresh blood appeared. In the end, a naked man walked out of the black smoke and shortly after, grand and majestic clothes grew out from his body before a black top hat appeared at last.

“My dear friend, your most loyal friend, Naberius, is here at your command.” The man smile and used his finger to push up his hat, “I was full of confidence in my Symphony of Predestination, so much so that even the Religious Court of Inquiry should not have been able to find me. Alas, I am still unable to hide from you, even if it has become half-aether. Can you tell me where did I go wrong?”

“No, your movement is fine. Even the Religious Court of Inquiry would not have been able to detect you.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head, “The problem lies with you.”

People with intelligence only needed to be told once. Naberius was stunned for a while before realization dawned on him. He shook his head, “I almost forgot. You are the savior who killed Leviathan personally. This suit of body has usurped the bloodline of Leviathan, so naturally I won’t be able to hide it from you.”

Ye Qingxuan did not respond, except to nod faintly, “It’s a good idea.”

Indeed. Regardless if the Leviathan blood was created from Firebird and the blood of Mordred, or it was used as a foundation for an unknown number of demon bloodlines and music theories, a brand new body was created eventually. Without question, Naberius’ talent was top-notch and his techniques and intelligence were also perfect. Other than the fact that he was a Dark Musician, there were no other problems.

The Chief Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry and the most talented Dark Musician of the past century have finally met within the Ultimate, yet there was no killing or shouting between them. Both of them stood far apart, keeping a safe distance between each other as they tried to stop themselves from thinking of sneaking an attack on the other. They behaved like long-lost friends who have finally met once more. They asked about each other in a cordial manner.

“It has been so long. You seem to be in good spirits.” Naberius looked at him, “Have you gotten used to the music theory that I gave you previously?”

“Not too bad.” Ye Qingxuan was grateful, “It was a great help when I was combining the music theory of Hyakume.”

“That’s good to hear.” Naberius seemed to genuinely pleased, “I was right all along. You should have become a Dark Musician.”

“Surely we don’t have to go through all this all over again?” Ye Qingxuan replied casually, “But, should you decide to come over to the good side, I can leave a place for you in the Religious Court of Inquiry.”

Naberius seemed tempted, “And if I ask for the title of a ‘Bishop’?”

“It can be considered,” Ye Qingxuan replied with all seriousness.

“That’s all?” Naberius frowned, “That’s not good enough, Mr Ye. If you come over to my side, I can make sure that you are on the same level as me! Can’t you see the difference?”

Ye Qingxuan countered, “Do you think a sane person would rather join the Religious Court of Inquiry or become a Dark Musician?”

Naberius was unmoved, “No, any sane person would probably not consider either of those choices?”

“Oh, you’re right.” Ye Qingxuan smiled with a shrug, “Does that mean that I have been rejected?”

“Don’t come to a conclusion so quickly, my friend.” Naberius smiled, “Let me think for a while more.”

“Then I look forward to hearing from you soon.” Ye Qingxuan smiled, “See you again?”

“See you again.” Naberius bade his farewell.

Ye Qingxuan took two steps back before turning around to leave. Only Naberius was left alone to remain standing on his spot.

After a long time, he sighed softly as a roar could be heard in the sky. He raised his head and looked at the spot that Ye Qingxuan was standing a while ago.

“Why didn’t you strike?”

There was a rolling of mist in the air as a blurry figure appeared. It was a young person wearing a green robe with smooth and white skin. It looked androgynous but there was a strange beauty about it. It was clearly human in form yet it did not feel human.

“He knew I was here.” Paganini, who was previously saint but now a dark minister, calmly said, “He was on his guard against you. When the both of you began to speak, he was on high alert.”

Naberius frowned, “He was able to discover your presence?”

“Impossible.” Paganini was extremely confident. “The problem lies with you.”

Naberius stayed silent for a long time before laughing out of the blue. His laughter was full of self-deprecation.

“It was… probably just a guess?” He finally figured out what was the problem. Before the fall of Hyakume, he had struck an agreement with Ye Qingxuan that he would hand over all the research he has done on the music theory of Hyakume to the him, and in exchange, Ye Qingxuan would lend his Clothes of Original Sin to Naberius to study for a day. Yet when they were talking about the old times just now, Naberius did not seem too concerned about the Clothes of Original Sin nor too interested in the Changing Music Theory. Anyone with a hint of intelligence would know that this was impossible.

There was only one possible conclusion: He no longer needed the Clothes of Original Sin because he has already gotten his hands on Changing Music Theory. This body, which was created from the bloodlines of countless demons, was proof of that. Aside from the Clothes of Original Sin, the only way to obtain the secret of Changing Music Theory was from the hands of its creator, Paganini. Changing Music Theory was such a formidable weapon that even Masters might not be willing to pass it down to disciples. The fact that Naberius has managed to get his hands on Changing Music Theory could only mean that he was on very good terms with Paganini…

“He managed to guess so many things just from a moment of neglect.” Naberius covered his face, before revealing a strange expression on his face. “The Chief Inquisitor has become more and more terrifying. Perhaps, we should have forced him to stay just now.”

“Don’t worry.” Paganini was calm, “One person cannot possible change what was happening around the world. I never thought it would be possible to strike off two names on the list in one go anyway.”

He paused and squinted his eyes in the direction of the core of the battle, “He will be in the second sequence. There is still time. We will get our chance.”

The battle lasted for 10 minutes. The Wagon of Burke was the first casualty. Despite joining forces with another Scepter, they were still unable to go against the movement of Schubert. The outcome of the battle was decided the moment the melody of “Unfinished Symphony” was played. But Schubert did not go after the kill. After defeating the two Scepters and gaining control of one-third of the stone plate, the Scepters remained frozen in mid-air.

Five minutes passed.

10 minutes passed.

Half an hour passed…

Everyone looked at each other. They had no clue what Schubert was thinking. Even Ye Qingxuan could not understand what was going on. But for some reason, he felt uneasy and he has been feeling this way since his encounter with Naberius just now. Even if he ignored the fact that Naberius somehow managed to find his way into the Ultimate, the battle between Scepters was something very rare for musicians and should be something that everyone should be paying undivided attention to.

But Ye Qingxuan noticed that Naberius has been looking at him from the very beginning. He did not seem to care about the battle taking place in the sky, as if he already knew what the outcome would be.

He did not look. Not even a single glance.

Although Ye Qingxuan might be overthinking, but against someone like Naberius, there was no harm thinking too much and being more prepared. Both of them were well aware that they stood for very different things so if an opportunity presented itself, they would have no qualms killing each other, even if they had been on very good terms. Besides, they were not on tremendously good terms anyway. Their relationship was best described as mutually beneficial.

From a distance, he hesitated for some time before deciding to move closer in the direction of Schubert. But just as he was doing so, he noticed that quite a number of musicians have already appeared. Everyone was keeping a safe distance from Schubert and continued to look from afar.

The first thing he saw was a corpse in horrendous state. Its innards have all been spilled.

It was Raymond.

After some time, Ye Qingxuan finally recognized the broken piece of corpse to belong to that old man. He never imagined Raymond to die in such a manner in the Ultimate, and to die… beside Schubert.

Ye Qingxuan looked away and saw the old nun chanting beside the corpse. The frail old nun was completely covered in the robe she wore and looked like an old granny who has been abiding by the rules for decades. Both her hands clasped onto her Rose Prayer Beads, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, as she hung her head and only looked at her fingertips.

Ye Qingxuan could vaguely see her lips moving, as if she was chanting something. In fact, some of the musicians that specialized in lip-reading had already figured out what she was chanting.

“Holy Bible.”