Silent Crown

Chapter 108 The Big Three of Darkness

"You even wore a wig!" The man pulled forcefully, but after a cry of pain, he came away with a handful of bloody hair. He froze before becoming furious, "Look! This Eastern kid is too much. He glued the wig to his scalp! You think that can fool Sir Levy? In your dreams!"

"In your dreams!" the two beside the man echoed in unison, waving their weapons.

Dean covered his face and curled up in pain, studying the men, "You, what do you want? Who are you?"

"You don’t know who I am?" the man with the mace roared in anger. He raised his weapon and announced fiercely, "I am Levy, the one-eyed swordsman!"

The man who had whacked Dean with the staff yelled, "I am John, wind of the dark night!"

"I am Rabbie, the bloodthirsty Excalibur!" the last one called out. All three of them struck a menacing and handsome pose, calling out in unison, "That’s right, we are the fallen morning star, the prince of evil, the infamous Big Three of Darkness!"

There was silence, a long silence. Finally, a weak voice came from the ground, "What…what are you?"

--

Dean did not know if there was something wrong with him or if he had run into three lunatics. To save himself, he forced himself to beg, "Friends, you must be mistaken, I really don’t know who you are."

Crack!

"You can’t even think of a better lie!" Furious, Levy dealt him a backhand slap. "Everyone in downtown knows us three! Answer me! Are you that Eastern kid Luo is looking for?!"

Slapped into a daze, Dean shook his head reflexively, "No, no!"

"Oh?" One-eyed Swordsman Levy opened his eyes wide, smirking, "Seems like you’re not willing to talk! Brothers, show him!"

Bang! Bang! Crack! Crash! Clang! Clonk!

A flurry of pained cries rang through the dark alley.

Ten minutes later, Levy asked while panting, "Answer me! Are you that Eastern kid?!"

"You-you really got the wrong person," Dean cried, but was beaten again.

Bang! Crack! Clonk! Thud!

Ten minutes passed before Dean professed, "I am! I am!" This time, Dean had finally learned his lesson. Face covered with blood, he grabbed Levy’s leg and cried, "I’m that Eastern kid! Please stop hitting me!"

"Ha, you finally admitted it!" Levy laughed proudly, "I told you that your amateur disguise wouldn’t be able to fool me!"

Beside him, John suddenly asked curiously, "But Boss, isn’t the Eastern kid’s hair white? Why is his hair reddish?"

"Huh?" Levy furrowed his brow, fury written across his features.

Dean hurriedly exclaimed, "Don’t hit me! I dyed it! I dyed it!"

Rabbi studied his face. Feeling that something was wrong, he turned and said, "Boss, his age isn’t right either. He looks like he’s thirty-something. Is he lying?"

"Huh?!" Levy’s brows furrowed even more, "You’re lying to me?"

Legs giving out, Dean fell onto his knees, "To be honest, I matured quickly." Gritting his teeth, through the humiliation as tears welled in his eyes, he choked out, "Even though I look old, I’m only fourteen. I really am that Eastern kid. Please stop hitting me…"

"Hmph! Good!" Levy nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, "John, tie him up and take him to Boss Luo. Show him how powerful we are!" With that, he whacked Dean’s head, knocking him out cold. "Which one is this?" he asked.

"Seventeenth. I’ve been counting!" John answered smugly.

Levy put his hands on his hips and roared with laughter, "We found so many Eastern kids in one day, but that group of failures couldn’t find any. Seems like downtown is filled with failures! This is the day that we, the Big Three of Darkness, will rise!"

The figure eavesdropping in the darkness finally could not hold it in anymore and burst into laughter, holding onto the wall for support.

"Who’s there? Show yourself!" Furious, Levy raised his mace, "Do you know who we are?"

"Yes, yes, I know." Trying hard not to laugh, the black shadow answered, "One-eyed Swordman Levy, Wind of the Dark Night John, and Bloodthirsty Excalibur Rabbi, You’re the Big, sorry, I can’t go on. Please excuse me, I need to laugh!" The figure covered his mouth, but sputtering laughter still made its way into Levy’s ears.

"You wanna die?" Levy slammed down his mace in fury, but it sliced through air! Air?! Stunned, he looked forward. When Levy had gone to hit him, the black shadow had rippled like water and almost dissipated.

"Friend, can you not start fighting without warning?" A hoarse voice murmured in his ears, "I think we should put down our weapons and talk nicely."

Freaked out, Levy spun around and attempted to strike him with his staff, but he heard a cry of pain and saw that he had hit John!

"Boss, what’s wrong?" Rabbi gaped at Levy who was yelling at nothing. He felt that something was wrong.

Levy was still furious and could not be bothered with John’s pained cry. He glared at the nonexistent black shadow and danced crazily with his weapons, "Stop playing around and show yourself!" As he continued to wave his mace, the shadow continued to change. Like water, it rippled, scattering for a moment then becoming whole again.

Just as one would start seeing things after staring into the darkness for too long, the shadow felt unreal. But the supposedly nonexistent shadow was right against Levy’s back, latching onto him like an angry spirit.

Levy roared in anger. He could no longer take the infuriating feeling. Gripping his weapon, he slammed it down.

The black shadow scattered with a pained cry, but after the shadow disappeared, he saw that he had brought the mace had down on Rabbi’s face.

"Boss, why are you hitting me?" Rabbi gaped at Levy, his face bloody and his eyes full of tears and pain. He fell over.

Levy blanched. The only sound in the alley was his heavy panting. An eerie wind blew through the alley. As it blew over the raised cobblestone, there was faint laughter. He finally heard the vague melody in the wind, like a black river of despair, the sharp yet wild sound melted into the wind, becoming extremely delicate. The delicate sound echoed in his ears, pushing at his nerves, flooding his senses in the black river. The wildness, hopelessness, and sadness echoed in his brain, awakening the most traumatic memories.

"Failure! Failure! You useless piece of sh*t!" The angry roars seemed to sound again, as if the man who always got violent after getting drunk had returned. Levy cried out and spun around, but there was nothing behind him. Then the world went black and he could not see anything.

His memory became clearer in the darkness. As if he had returned to the past, the darkness in the bottom of his heart awakened. It dragged him along, forcing him to relive the cruel abuse, the scars left behind from whips and sticks, and the helpless despair…

"Go away! Go away!" Levy screamed. He waved his mace crazily, but he could not hit anything. Finally, he collapsed onto the ground. He waved his arms, trying to fight the nonexistent ghost, but the monster was in his heart, snickering.

"Who? Who are you?!" Levy yelled hoarsely. Picking up a rock, he threw it blindly, "I’m going to kill you!"

"I told you to calm down." Beside him, the figure leaned lazily against the wall. The moon shone over the high wall, casting silver light on his upper body, but his body was shrouded in a menacing black robe. Even his face was hidden under a wide-brimmed hat. All that could be seen was his delicate and pale palm. He rested against the steel-gray cane in his hands. Under the moonlight, the cane seemed to vibrate, rippling faintly.

Not even Ye Qingxuan had thought that a simple shadow made by the rune Mirror, and the first measure of Black Friday could have controlled Levy, and made him hurt his friends, practically turning him into a lunatic.

The ease came from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei’s help. The instrument had been designed to help the musician perform precise manipulation of the aether. Ye Qingxuan could only perform the music score carved into his brain with its help. With its aid, Ye Qingxuan was able to perform complex notes. He had entirely skipped months and years of practicing, and had jumped right to the Rhythm level.

Unfortunately, Black Friday had five measures in total. Of these five effects, he only had the ability to choose one. Unlike a true musician, he could not pair the measures how he wanted to, or even use all five effects at once. The music piece influenced enemies’ senses by using the negative emotions in the melody as a medium. All Ye Qingxuan had used just then was the first measure—vision interference. If he played the whole piece, he could make someone blind, deaf, and unfeeling. Even if he stabbed them through their chest, they would not even be able to feel the pain. In the end, they would die in confusion. This strange style was darker than the Dark Musicians!

When he played this piece, Ye Qingxuan could feel himself becoming colder too. The music did not only influence others—it also affected his spirit. Ye Qingxuan really wanted to know why his father had created such a dark piece of music, but at the moment, he had more important questions to ask.

Ye Qingxuan suddenly banged the cane against the ground. The melody jumped from the first measure to the third. The tide of despair spread with the melody, rushing into Levy’s brain.

Levy’s vision suddenly brightened and he could see again, but his body was numb and he could not move at all. Someone stepped onto him and looked down at him, their face shrouded in shadows.

"Good evening, sir!" The figure’s silhouette seemed well-dressed, like an elite, but why would an elite be in the dirty downtown? The strange cuts and material of the robe had a beastly aura, mixing wildness and grace. It was inexplicably strange. "I’ll be honest with you. I need your answer about something."