Chapter 84 The Three Souls
The moment Enoch received the Book of Heaven, he felt a subtle change; his body seemed to lighten.
A look of surprise crossed his face. He was about to say something more to Raziel, but the angel had vanished.
"The Archangel?"
No one answered. He grew anxious: "Cain is wreaking havoc on Earth! Enoch begs for a solution!"
A voice came from the void, saying: 'The answer is in the book. You will understand after you read it.'
Enoch pursed his lips. The situation outside was uncertain. The longer it dragged on, the more dangerous it would become. He had no time to read the book. Even if this divine book contained enough wondrous techniques, he didn't have time to learn them!
'Time flows at only one-seventh the speed of the outside world within the labyrinth. You can use this opportunity to master the Book of Heaven…'
That is, seven days here equals one day outside.
Following Raziel's instructions, he immediately found a place to read the book. Raziel told him to read it for seven weeks, but he finished the entire book in just one week.
He stretched out his hand and saw a tiny flame emerge from his fingertips, constantly scorching the air, yet his hand felt no heat from the flame.
The divine book granted him powers beyond the reach of mortals, and vast amounts of knowledge were stored in his mind for his use.
He put the book away. The labyrinth was no longer a problem for him, but Akliman was still trapped there, likely experiencing hallucinations like Raziel. He had to find her as soon as possible.
With his increasingly keen intuition, he quickly located the place of Akliman's hallucinations and easily broke the labyrinth's illusion with the Book of Paradise. However, Akliman did not awaken.
Enoch was puzzled: "I should have broken the illusion, why hasn't she woken up yet?"
Akliman's eyes were closed, a smile playing on her lips, as if she were having a sweet dream. Seeing this, Enoch remembered a dream-entering technique described in a book.
He chanted a spell, his consciousness entering Akliman's subconscious.
After a dizzying moment, he felt his feet on damp, muddy ground, the scent of fresh grass lingering in the air.
He opened his eyes to a clear blue sky and verdant fields. A gentle breeze ruffled his tousled hair. He was amazed by the peaceful dream Akliman was having. Just then, he heard a string of silvery laughter behind him.
He walked towards the sound and saw a young couple running happily across the open field.
"Akliman!"
Enoch's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the woman.
Shedding her dusty cloak, Akliman, now clad in a pristine white linen gown, bore no resemblance to the somber leader she once was.
She was indeed Eve's most beautiful daughter, a true daughter of the human king, a princess among mortals. A silver bracelet adorned her wrist, and a jeweled ring added to her regal bearing; her smile was sweeter and more radiant than ever.
Yet, at the same time, she was like an ordinary girl, sweetly and repeatedly calling out a name.
"Abel."
Abel, Enoch gazed at the man with masculine features and a gentle, cheerful demeanor. Was this the image of Akliman's beloved?
He walked to Akliman's side and spoke to her.
"That's not your beloved."
"Be strong, Akliman."
"Have you forgotten?"
"Abel, make me a wreath!" she pleaded with her lover beside her.
"Okay," Abel responded gently, and suddenly a cluster of olive leaves and roses appeared beside him. "You must save those hunters."
"Over there! Over there!" Akliman clung to Abel's arm, pointing and gesturing beside him.
"Your duty…"
"Your determination to defeat Cain…"
The blonde woman was lost in her dream, ignoring Enoch's advice.
The man's nimble hands wove a beautiful rose wreath and gently placed it on Akliman's head.
"I love it!" Akliman grasped both ends of the wreath, her eyes constantly darting upwards, a greedy look of wanting to see but not wanting to take it down.
Enoch was helpless. The illusion had dissipated; Akliman herself refused to leave.
He pitied the woman's fragile emotions and didn't want to shatter her dream.
"But you must leave on your own."
"Is that so? If you like it, that's fine." Abel sighed softly. "You know, Akliman, I really love you, but you don't belong here."
He looked at the girl's slightly changed expression, as if coaxing her. "Leave here."
Ackerman shook her head violently. "What are you saying, Abel! Don't say things I don't understand."
"You understand," Abel gently stroked her long, golden hair. "I know Akliman is the smartest."
"Don't do this, I'm angry… Abel," her voice trembled with tears, clutching his hand tightly.
"Stop! I won't listen!"
Abel shed tears of blood, suddenly manifesting a terrifying face—the very face he had taken when he died.
"No!—"
Enoch stared in astonishment at Abel, watching him speak to her in a silent tone.
'Take her away.'
The dream shattered abruptly.
Ackerman awoke with a near-fainting thud, her face streaked with tears.
Enoch, seeing her dejected expression, softly comforted her, "Are you alright…?"
Ackerman cried loudly.
Enoch was completely at a loss when he saw her cry like a child for the first time.
He wanted to comfort her, but felt that nothing he said would be appropriate at this moment. Fortunately, Akliman calmed down after crying for a while.
"I know that world is fake," she said, staring into the void.
'But somehow, I feel you are real.'
Enoch looked at her, a sense of unease rising within him. If there had been a resolute and sharp light in Akliman's eyes before, that light was now extinguished.
Her heart seemed to shatter along with the dream.
They walked silently through the labyrinth. To break the silence, Enoch told her about the Book of Heaven. Akliman's interest was slightly piqued, and she asked Enoch for the book and flipped through it.
"There's nothing written in it," she said. "It seems that only you among us humans can see the words on it."
As they spoke, they had returned to the entrance of the labyrinth.
"There seem to be quite a few voices outside," Akliman said, turning her head after listening for a while through the wall. "We need to be careful."
"I'll go check it out. You stay here," Enoch said.
Akliman was slightly surprised by his confidence. Before she could say anything, Enoch vanished from her sight.
"That's invisibility," a boy's voice came from the air.
Enoch disappeared into the maze. As dusk approached, the sky began to turn gray. He listened for a while and realized the commotion was coming from the prison not far away.
A large group of soldiers, spears in hand, dragged dozens of burly men out of the prison. Enoch recognized his fellow hunters. The soldiers led the hunters to the edge of the square.
'Oh no, are they going to execute them?' Anxious, he followed the soldiers to the southwest corner of the square, where a young man with brown hair waited. He wore a tight leather coat and high boots, and while somewhat handsome, his overly arrogant demeanor was unpleasant. The soldiers called him "Lord Lamey."
Lamay looked down at the group of disheveled bandits, a glint of disdain in his eyes.
"...Your ignorant offense deserves hanging, but given my soon-to-be new grandmother's soft heart, I will make an exception and spare your lives."
With that, he ordered his men to untie the prisoners.
"Get out of here, and never set foot in Enoch again!"
Enoch, hidden nearby, fell into deep thought.
"This doesn't seem like something Cain would do."
A voice whispered in his ear, startling Enoch. He looked at Akliman, who had silently appeared beside him.
"How did you know…" he asked in a low voice.
"Your breathing." Akliman pointed to his ear. "Don't get cocky just because you have some special abilities, young man. To me, your invisibility isn't anything special."
Akliman looked towards the plaza and continued, "I know Cain better than anyone. He never changes his mind about what he's doing."
"We can secretly follow them, and protect them if anything happens…" Akliman paused, "No, I can go. You have to go save Edna."
Enoch glanced at the West Tower, and in that single glance, a cold sweat broke out on his back. He grabbed Akliman and, under her astonished gaze, pointed upwards.
He saw Edna standing by the window, and the silver-haired man behind her.
Cain had a smile on his lips, as if he were speaking intimately with Edna.
What were Cain and Edna saying?
Why did he wear such a smug smile as he watched the hunters depart?
What was he plotting?
He suppressed his anger. The Book of Heaven seemed to materialize in his mind, its pages turning rapidly until it stopped at the page he needed.
"Enoch?" Akliman called softly.
"Let's follow them and see," he said, successfully making Akliman invisible as well.
Dusk had fallen. The hunters, weary from the city of Enoch, dragged their weary steps. Lamé had taken their weapons, and naturally, he wouldn't return their horses and packs. Dozens of men walked across the wilderness, hungry and exhausted.
"Do you think they're really going to let us go?" one hunter asked, chewing on a bitter fruit.
"We should feel ashamed," another hunter said. "It was Miss Edna."
"Our lives were saved by Miss Edna."
"She agreed to marry such a wicked man to save us."
"Are we just going to leave like this?" The hunters fell silent, exchanging bewildered glances.
"To leave her there alone…"
"Would we still be men?"
"I'm going back!"
"Yes! We'll die with dignity!" the hunters echoed. They turned back, only to be met with hundreds of blood-red eyes.
Hideous 'people' bared their fangs and surrounded them, their hungry eyes filled with longing, the drool from their mouths more foul than that of wolves.
"A vampire!?"
"He never intended to let us go!" a hunter exclaimed angrily. "He lied to Miss Edna!"
"We can't possibly lose to them when it comes to hunger! Charge! Brothers, bite them to death!"
"There's no need for that," Akliman said, removing her hood and revealing herself from thin air.
"Leader!" The hunters looked at her with delight, as if they had found their leader. Akliman's eyes darkened, and with a burst of power, she decapitated a vampire with her longsword. Enoch appeared just in time, destroying the vampire's corpse with a fire spell.
"Pleasant to cooperate!" Akliman snapped her fingers, her long golden hair weaving through the vampire horde. Led by her, the hunters joined the battle. Seeing them unarmed, Enoch conjured a multitude of weapons with magic.
"Enoch, you're amazing!"
Sang snatched a large, handy machete and immediately became enamored with it. He wielded it, hacking down vampires one by one as if chopping wood. Soon, a small mountain of corpses piled up at his feet, which Enoch then burned to ashes.
The vampires outnumbered them several times over, but with Enoch's help, wielding the Book of Heaven, they killed them all.
The hunters' group had achieved such a great success for the first time. Led by Akliman and Enoch, they returned to the city triumphantly, ready to rescue Edna and all the captured girls.
The moon rose high in the sky, and the city that never sleeps was brightly lit, as if preparing for a grand ceremony.
They brazenly stormed through the city gates. Lamey, on patrol, quickly received word and led his several thousand cavalry to confront the hunters.
"How dare you! I let you go, and instead of being grateful, you come back to cause trouble!" He glanced at the two extra people in the hunters' group, his lustful gaze lingering on Akliman.
"And who are you?"
"Your grandmother!" Akliman retorted angrily, seeing his blatant gaze.
"My grandfather already has a grandmother, so you'll be my wife," Lamai teased.
The hunters were enraged by this, and a fierce battle immediately broke out. Both sides suffered casualties. Enoch, fighting against a hundred men, stood out in the chaos. Seeing him wound several of his men, Lamai stepped forward with her spear.
"I'll take you on."
The two clashed. Akliman was shocked. She had always thought Enoch was a weak scholar, and his behavior towards him throughout the journey had reflected this. She hadn't expected him to be so disciplined and methodical in his fighting.
The hunters were ruthless in killing vampires, but they struggled against their own kind of soldiers. Outnumbered, they gradually fell behind. Lamai, wielding his spear, used his momentum to suppress Enoch.
He deflected Enoch's knife with his spear, but didn't kill him.
He admired this young man who could fight him for hundreds of rounds.
"I know you, and I know why you're here, but she's already my grandfather's," Lamai pleaded. "You're a man of courage, though. I won't kill you. If you know what's good for you, take them with you."
Feeling the sharp weapon against his back recede slightly, Enoch leaped onto his back, simultaneously unleashing an invisible net that ensnared Lamai and the soldiers.
"Thank you for your mercy. I won't kill you either," Enoch said to Lamai, trapped in the net, then looked at Akliman.
"They're in your hands now."
"I know, be careful." Akliman knew what he was going to do and didn't stop him. "Try to avoid a direct confrontation with him. Rescuing Edna is the priority."
Enoch nodded and then ran towards the West Tower.
On the tower, Edna was arguing with her maid.
"I won't wear these," she said coldly.
"These are wedding clothes; you must wear them," the maid urged, holding up the black gown. "Lord Cain has released the bandits as you requested, and you should keep your promise."
Seeing Edna's resistance, she changed her tone: "If you insist on not complying, and the Lord changes his mind, those people can be brought back at any time."
"You dare threaten me?" Edna raised an eyebrow at the maid.
"This servant wouldn't dare," the maid said respectfully.
"Then get out of here. I won't touch that black dress no matter what," Edna said coldly.
"At least please wear this gold chain. Lord Cain specially commissioned a master craftsman to make it for you," the maid said hastily, seeing Edna about to refuse without even looking up.
"Please don't make things difficult for me. I can't leave without wearing it."
The atmosphere became tense. Finally, Edna gave in, tossing her long hair as the maid placed the magnificent gold necklace around her neck.
"No one in the world could complement this necklace better than you."
"Fine, I've put it on. Now, please get out of here so I can have some peace and quiet."
The maid, seeing her goal achieved, stopped bothering her. After the maid left, Edna quickly took out a small saw she had hidden and began sawing at the chains on her feet, muttering to herself as she did so.
This master and servant pair is something else; the master finishes her nagging, then the servant takes over.
"I wonder how they are. I can't wait much longer." She was fed up with the vampires' greasiness.
"Edna!"
Edna threw down the saw and looked with surprise at the boy who jumped in through the window again.
"Enoch-Noh!" She excitedly grabbed his shoulder.