Silent Crown

It was already noon when Shi Dong woke up.

But the sky was still dark.

In the city void of light, the difference between day and night seemed to have disappeared, as if time had solidified here. The city seemed to have fallen into an eternal slumber, and only shadows traveled through the streets.

The Westminster Abbey was empty as well. In the past, it used to be as crowded as a marketplace, with countless carriages and people coming and going.

At the moment, even sparrows were unwilling to come. Only dead leaves fell from the drying branches, scattering on the ground, and no one bothered to clean up.

“Don’t you even have any handyman here?” Shi Dong asked.

“Everyone has been evacuated,” Mephistopheles replied. He said, “The Royal Institute of Research, the Royal Academy of Music, Anbo Heavy Industry… The talent reserves of the institutions of high importance were all involved in the first secret evacuation, and have been secretly transferred to Birmingham before the war began. I sent the young priests away, and only a few old men like me have stayed here.”

Having said that, he sighed. “Someone must stay behind to lead the evening prayers for people who are unwilling or unable to leave, right? The bishop of the previous generation passed the church down to me, and I vowed to guard it for the rest of my life. Looking back at my words now, I’m afraid that I may face significant difficulties in keeping my promise.”

“It’s perfectly normal.” Shi Dong yawned. “When you have a catastrophe for an opponent, you will lose many battles and win very few. It doesn’t matter if the church is destroyed. At most, let the future generations build a new one.”

“My father was a stonemason. He taught me one thing when I was still very young—If an old house is on the verge of collapse, one should consider other options besides fixing it.”

Mephistopheles was silent for a long time, and said straightforwardly, “Your father’s method of educating you has certain problems.”

“Who said otherwise?” Shi Dong shrugged, then shuddered and lifted his pants. He looked back at the archbishop. “Are you done with peeing?”

“It’ll take a bit longer.” Mephistopheles said, “Stop looking at me, I get nervous easily.”

“Aren’t you blind? How do you know that I am looking at you?” Shi Dong asked.

“I know it when someone is looking at me. It has nothing to do with me being blind or otherwise!” Mephistopheles retorted.

“You should have switched to an artificial prostate gland a long time ago like what I did; it’s much better,” Shi Dong commented

“Aging is also one of the joys of life.” Mephistopheles twitched his mouth in disagreement. “People like you who like to change their body parts to artificial ones won’t understand.”

“…Enough of the fiddle-faddles of old men.” Shi Dong sighed and leaned against the wall of the toilet. “No point flaunting your seniority in front of me, little Mephistopheles. I was the one who brought you up, after all.”

Mephistopheles scratched his hair, and his attitude suddenly changed from a senile one to one of slovenliness. He fished out a packet of cigarettes from the inner pocket of his robe. “Fancy a smoke?”

“Nah, I dare not, it will damage my artificial lungs.” Shi Dong shook his head. “But I’m surprised to find out that you actually smoke. That’s so unlike the saintly appearance you have been putting on.”

“Oh come on, Sir, only the dead can be revered as saints, for they no longer have opportunities to sin.” Mephistopheles ignited the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and puffed out a cloud of smoke. He relaxed and squeezed out two more drops of urine. “I am already so old, yet I have never assaulted little boys sexually, never embezzled public funds, and never had any affairs with secret lovers. I have abided by the canon law and remained a virgin my whole life… My life is so pure and wholesome that it’s abnormal. I’m sure God will forgive the occasional self-indulgence of people like me.”

“From whom did you learn the canon law?” Shi Dong questioned.

“Mr. Qatar,” came the archbishop’s reply.

“No wonder.” Shi Dong shook his head. “He died two years ago.”

“He was over 100 years old, it’s normal. How did he die?” Mephistopheles asked.

“His domme whipped him to death, in bed,” Shi Dong replied.

“…” Mephistopheles was at a loss for words.

“So, you need not always talk about the canon law that a perv taught you.” Shi Dong glanced at him. “We don’t have many conversation topics between us. Let’s talk about something that we are both interested in, such as catastrophes, such as war…”

“What do you want to know about them?” Mephistopheles asked.

“Leviathan,” Shi Dong said. “Of the three seals that were set up back then, how many have been broken?”

Mephistopheles smoked in silence. In order to seal Leviathan, the past generations of emperors of Anglo set up three seals, one for each of the three stages of its reawakening. The breaking of each seal represented an increase in Leviathan’s powers to a stronger level. The reawakening of Leviathan’s consciousness meant that the first seal had disintegrated. The beginning of the resurrection of Leviathan’s body meant that the second seal had been broken.

When the third seal was broken, Leviathan, the catastrophe that possessed both consciousness and flesh, one of the ‘four living creatures’ at the top of the hierarchy of non-humans, would descend upon the world completely.

After a good while, Mephistopheles mumbled, “As far as I know, the second seal has been broken.”

Shi Dong was silent for a long time, then finally said, “I thought you didn’t say anything for a long time because you were trying to muster up enough force to urinate. I almost wanted to cheer for you.”

“Shut up, don’t interrupt me.” Mephistopheles paused, and his voice became low. “It’s still brewing, I’ll be done soon.”

“Nah, don’t. Peeing at the mention of catastrophes is such a shameful thing,” Shi Dong remarked.

“…” Mephistopheles said nothing.

After a good while, a faint pattering sounded for a while, then disappeared once more. Mephistopheles breathed in relief and buckled his belt, finally escaping from the awful awkwardness.

Aging is really awful, he thought.

…

In the empty courtyard, the two sat on a bench and exchanged information on what had happened in the past few days. Shi Dong contemplated his thoughts for a long time, scratching at his bald head. “How much longer are you and the rest of the Church planning to keep it from the public eye?” He continued, “At least we should let the people die knowing the truth?”

“After all, it’s a shameful thing.” Mephistopheles also frowned gloomily. Halfway through his sentence, he lowered his voice and asked, “Can you help me see if anyone is around?”

“No one else is here,” Shi Dong answered, expressionless. “Feel free to smoke.”

“Sorry, I have finally freed myself of this burden before Avalon is destroyed. After stepping down, I slackened slightly.” Mephistopheles lit another cigarette. “I was under stress. I’m old already, and my heart can’t take it anymore, such matters are best left to the youngsters.”

“You handed Westminster Abbey over to our Grand Inquisitor because of this?” Shi Dong asked.

“Yes, what else?” Mephistopheles asked. “The entrusting of a mission to someone else at a critical moment is a form of political wisdom… Oh yeah, where were we?”

Shi Dong looked at him and said, “Such a disgrace.”

“Yes, a disgrace.” As if he did not realize that Shi Dong was criticizing him, Mephistopheles wore an indifferent expression. “After all, it’s a shameful secret of the royal family.”

“Anglo and Leviathan are mortal enemies, but hasn’t the royal family ever explained why? Countries on the sea are aplenty, but why has Leviathan been targeting Anglo and only Anglo for so many years…” Shi Dong asked.

“Explain? How to explain?” Mephistopheles said. “Surely they can’t say that it is all because of the wrongdoings of their ancestors? Just look at them. In order to explain how wise and brave King Arthur was, they have even gone to the great lengths of making up a tale about the Lady of the Lake.”

“Whose idea was it? It totally sucks… Look at the terrible script written by some third-rate writer.” Shi Dong couldn’t help but want to spit. “The wise and brave King Arthur won the heart of the Lady of the Lake. The fairy lady gave him a sword, a kiss, and her blessing, so he became the king chosen by destiny.

“He conquered the seven seas, made Avalon his capital, built the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and made it his betrothal gift to the Lady of the Lake. He married her and made her his queen, and let her give birth to his descendants of dragon blood.

“God knows where did the dragon blood come from. Arthur was merely a fisherman before he met the Lady of the Lake… From the beginning to the end, you all have refused to admit that the so-called royal family is the actual vile spawn of the sea.

“The so-called Lady of the Lake, the so-called queen — is Leviathan, which King Arthur killed! ”

“We can’t admit it.” Mephistopheles shook his head. “How can we admit it?”

In the silence, Stone leaned back against the chair, closed his eyes, and hummed the hallucination-like song. “The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream… We have the power, yet where should we go? Oh, men, hoist the sail!

“Pull, thieves and beggars, we’ll live forever…”

“Stop singing, it gives me the willies.” Mephistopheles threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it, putting out the flame.

“It’s ridiculous, Mephistopheles, a catastrophe falling in love with a human.” Shi Dong said calmly, “She loved Arthur so much, loving a human being to the extent that she did not hesitate to give him her own power, and did not hesitate to satisfy any wishes of his… She used her power as a catastrophe to foot the bill for Arthur’s wild ambitions.”

Mephistopte shook his head in pity. “Unfortunately, the interest charged is too high for Arthur’s descendants.”

“People have to pay their debts. After all, Mephistopheles, Anglo should have gone bankrupt a long time ago.” Shi Dong said coldly, “Like what I said—If an old house is on the verge of collapse, one should consider other options besides fixing it. I can sort of understand why Maxwell has rebelled now. Such a kingdom has been founded on wrongness from the very beginning.”

“Actually, he has always held the role of the one fixing the house.” Mephistopheles smiled bitterly. “Despite the fact that he has failed to resolve many internal and external issues if it isn’t for him, I’m afraid that the declining royal family cannot even survive until now, we have to give him that.”

“I have been pondering this question for a long time. Is he a representative of one of the old devils?” Shi Dong wondered out loud.

Mephistopheles replied, “I don’t think so. Why would a person with such abilities hide behind the scenes? Moreover, choosing someone like him to be one’s chess piece is not just a matter of having difficulties in controlling him, but a decision that is way too dangerous.”

“What else do you know about him?” Shi Dong asked.

“Next to nothing.” Mephistopheles shrugged. “He is a person who suddenly appeared in this city one day. We know nothing of his roots and origins, nor do we know anything about the identities of his father and mother. It’s as if he came from the stone split opened by the stone sword.

“At the beginning, when he first appeared, he was serving as the private secretary of the previous emperor. Later, he succeeded the Principal of the Royal Academy of Music. Then, his scope of power began to expand rapidly and got out of control.

“In many instances, he acted without scruples, being willful to the extent that it was impossible for any emperor to tolerate him by right, but he remained deeply trusted. He was even appointed as the sword bearer, and many domestic affairs were entrusted in his hands. He was even allowed to form the Fifth Department, a twisted intelligence agency.

“His own ability can only be described as incredible, and he knows everything that happened in this city. In the past few decades, all of Avalon was like a toy that he could fiddle with in his hands…”

“A descendant of the royal bloodline?” asked Shi Dong.

“Impossible. No records of him have been found, and he doesn’t match up with anyone born into the royal family in these years. If he had royal blood, how could anyone else have a chance to sit on the throne?”

Mephistopheles sighed. “Unfortunately, he is not the emperor.”

“Yeah.” Shi Dong smiled gloatingly. “Fortunately, he is not the emperor.”

Mephistopheles remained silent for a long time, and his expression became one of vigilance. “What mischief are you plotting this time around?”