This chapter was brought to you by AnmesicCat, and StellarAshes.
The One Who Should Be Sacrificed
Yizhou had never been the one to follow the chivalric code closely, but he did receive years of Knight’s morality training. Holding someone hostage was not something a Knight should do, let alone when the target was a female, especially when she was a Princess.
Even the most un-chivalric Knight would hesitate on receiving a mission like this, and Yizhou was no exception. Baolilong didn’t seem to give him any time to think; it bit the corner of Yizhou’s clothes, and roared, “This is master’s orders, you must obey!”
Yizhou frowned. He raised his head to look in the direction of Silver Moon’s fight. Though he couldn’t see Silver Moon clearly, but he realized the area surrounded by the white and dark Auras was getting smaller and smaller. Perhaps in a moment, Silver Moon would really become a bird in a nest, getting captured after being exhausted.
Seeing this, Yizhou nodded and agreed with the Dragon. After Baolilong see Yizhou nod, it received an order from Silver Moon, then it transformed into a large Dragon, and began to fly in the direction of Aklan capital.
In that instant, other than the three people currently in combat, Cappuccino, Lanski, and Jasmine’s attentions were all caught by Baolilong. Lanski and Jasmine began to panic and called out to Cappuccino, whom immediately tried to go intercept Baolilong with Little Fireball.
When everyone’s attention was focused to the air, an attack surrounded with a silver Aura sent Jasmine flying to a few meters away. Of course, she was not the real target; Yizhou spun around, and put her sword on Lanski before she react. Lanski didn’t not realize the attacker was Yizhou until now, and she completely froze.
Know Mocha’s prediction, Jasmine was already yelling panickedly, “Let go of Lanski!”
There was no way for Yizhou to do that. He held the Princess hostage, and yelled loudly into the battle, “Stop attacking the successor, or otherwise I will… I will attack the Princess.”
Yizhou’s words sounded awkward. “Kill” was something he could never say, so he replaced it with “attack”. Any person with common sense would know, Yizhou probably didn’t have the guts to really do it.
However, his actions did indeed draw Lancelot and Blood Wolf’s attention. They both frowned, and Blood Wolf said, “Ignore him, he wouldn’t dare.”
Lancelot frowned, and he still looked in the direction of Lanski out of worry. Sure enough, he saw Yizhou awkwardly holding Lanski hostage. He knew in his heart that Blood Wolf’s judgment was correct, so he planned on ignoring Yizhou…
“Lancelot!” Blood Wolf roared.
Lancelot’s eyes were only off Silver Moon for an instant, but little did he know, this was the exactly the kind of opportunity Silver Moon had been waiting for. He raised his speed to its limit, and it was so fast that neither legendary Knight’s Aura could stop him. With a flash, Silver Moon managed to escape out of their siege.
Crap! Lancelot and Blood Wolf both knew the situation was dire. If Silver Moon mounted the King of the Sky — the Sacred White Dragon, then the only thing left for them to do was chase after him from behind.
When he was about to call forth his mount to intercept Baolilong, Blood Wolf instead yelled strangely, “No! His target is the Princess!”
Lancelot’s heart felt a shock. When he turned his head, the black shadow had already arrived at where Lanski and Yizhou were.
Yizhou felt nothing but a gust. He then found himself pushed onto the floor. He raised his head to look, and realized the successor Silver Moon had already replaced him, with Broken Silver pressed against the Princess’s thin neck.
Everyone took a deep breath. Though the person who was holding her Princess was her own brother, but no one would doubt for a second that the Silver Moon now would cut the Princess’s neck. The silver eyes sparkling with coldness had already told everyone present to never doubt this person’s cruelty.
“Back up, all of you.”
Silver Moon said coldly. While he did, he applied pressure onto Broken Silver, and a thin red line immediately appeared on her white skin.
“Stop! Liola, don’t do this.”
Jasmine had already been deeply frightened. She might have been originally half skeptical about the prophecy, but she was certain of it now. She was very afraid that in the next second, Broken Silver would break the neck of her best friend.
“Back up!” Silver Moon suddenly yelled loudly.
Jasmine immediately stood up, and ran towards where Lancelot and Blood Wolf stood. She looked at them with pleading eyes, and the latter had no choice but sigh and slowly backed away.
‘Baolilong come back!’
Cappuccino also didn’t dare to chase Baolilong anymore. The giant Baolilong slowly landed besides Silver Moon, who went and stood on Baolilong’s back with the hostage still in his hand.
“Wait! Let Lanski go.” Jasmine yelled anxiously.
Silver Moon’s silver eyes coldly glanced towards her, but he made no response to Jasmine. Instead, he looked towards Yizhou, and commanded, “Summon your dragon, and follow me.”
“Yes, sir.” Yizhou obeyed.
Baolilong slowly began to lift off. Silver Moon was now sure, no one could possibly catch up to Baolilong. His cold lips went up against Lanski’s ears, and said, “Don’t worry, sister, I will bring you back to father, and he will be the judge on what to do with you.”
Lanski was shocked. She was now in panic; this was different than what Mocha said! Didn’t Mocha mean, she could help? That she could wake up Liola, right? Why had she become a burden instead? If Silver Moon escaped, no one present could stay in the Dragon Empire any longer, and there would be no more chances to wake Liola up.
“No…” Lanski’s face became pale. She could never allow this to happen.
Silver Moon frowned. Ignoring Lanski, he commanded Baolilong, “Let’s go! Back to Aklan.”
“No!”
Lanski suddenly realized what it meant. She completely ignored the fact that an razor was held on her neck, and she turned to hold Silver Moon and wouldn’t let go. If it weren’t for Silver Moon’s alertness and his ability to move the weapon quickly away, Lanski’s neck might have already been cut by now.
“Let go!” Silver Moon frowned; he thought this action might affect him, because it would be disadvantageous to him now if the Paladin and Dark Knight used this opportunity to attack him.
Nevertheless, Silver Moon was worrying too much. Everyone was standing far away, and with Lanski hugging Silver Moon, their distance was even closer. With his speed, no one would dare to see which would be faster, Silver Moon’s blade or their running speed.
“Never!” Lanski held tightly to Silver Moon, and yelled, “Liola! Liola, please, wake up, don’t be like this anymore.”
Silver Moon’s silver eyes darkened.
“Do you still remember Kaiser! Haven’t you two always been friends?” Lanski said hurriedly.
“Kaiser?” Silver Moon’s face was gloomy, “You are on Qiusi’s side?”
Lanski shook her head desperately, “No, Liola, I just want you to wake up, I’m not on any sides.”
“Don’t call me Liola!” Silver Moon’s eyes flashed, and yelled with frustration, “I am Silver Moon!”
“No!” Lanski bitterly shook her head, “You can be Liola, or you can be Silver Mask, but I will never call you Silver Moon.”
Hearing this, Silver Moon’s irises suddenly contracted. His hand that was holding Broken Silver trembled, “Why wouldn’t you call me Silver Moon? You always used to called me Silver Moon.”
Lanski froze. When did she ever call him Silver Moon? Always used to?
“Have you given up on me? Anise?”
Lanski suddenly raised her head. From what Lancelot told her, she knew about the previous Sacred White Dragon, Bairui, transforming into Anise, a girl who looked identical to her, and a girl who taught Silver Moon how to have feelings; but wasn’t Anise dead? Why would Silver Moon call her Anise…
By now, Silver Moon had already reached out his hands to touch Lanski’s hair. Lanski could feel, his hands were shaking, as if they were trying to hold something back.
“Please call me again, Anise.” Silver Moon said practically pleadingly.
Lanski didn’t know how to react. She finally understood now, Silver Moon thought she was Anise, but she really wasn’t. Also, Lanski had also decided, she would never call him Silver Moon, fearing that if she did so, Liola would never come back.
Lanski’s silence seemed to have infuriated Silver Moon. He suddenly shouted violently, “Call me Silver Moon!”
Though Silver Moon’s eyes and personality drove fear into Lanski, but a Princess’s pride made her hold her stance. She answered firmly, “No, you’re Liola, not Silver Moon.”
“Shut up!”
Silver Moon slapped Lanski onto the ground. After doing so, he kept trying to catch his breath, as if the slap caused him every last ounce of his strength.
Blood dripped from the corner of Lanski’s mouth, and she felt a burning pain on his cheek, but her expression was now even more determined. She raised her head, and said word by word, “The person I knew before, was Liola, the person I know now, is still Liola, and the person I will know from now, will always be Liola!”
“Is that so?”
With his head lowered, Silver Moon seemed to have calmed down. When he raised his head again, his eyes were as calm as lake water without the slightest of ripples, so calm that not a single bit of emotion could be seen. He said lightly, “You said Kaiser, and father told me to kill anyone in connection with them. Therefore, sister, farewell.”
Lanski froze, and a strand of silver light was already stabbing towards her. The only thing she thought was, ‘Did I fail? I didn’t wake Liola, but I’m about to die, then will there be anyone who could wake him?’
Though the people far away could tell something had happened, they didn’t dare come closer. It wasn’t until when Silver Moon slapped Lanski into the ground did everyone react and ran up, but it was already too late. They saw Silver Moon raised Broken Silver high in the air, then intertwined with a red aura, and striked towards Lanski.
“Liola, I-I really want to see you again with your mask, waiting for me underneath the moonlight…”
At the brink of her death, the thing Lanski remembered was the failed first date: the silver moonlight landing on his tall and thin body; with his eyes closed, he seemed so relaxed and free, aloof and arrogant, almost like… a silver solitary moon. Lanski suddenly realized, Silver Moon?
Even though she had some doubts, but Lanski didn’t have time to think anymore. The silver light had already arrived. In an instant, darkness befell in front of Lanski’s eyes…
Blood spilled everywhere! Everyone screamed in shock! The scene seemed to have froze: Silver Moon stopped, and everyone stopped running; they all froze as they looked at this destined tragedy…
“I’ve thought about it a lot, brother, can a person really be emotionless? If you really were emotionless, then how did Anise move a person without emotion?”
“Why would you be so stubborn about the name ‘Silver Moon’? Silver Moon is emotionless and cold; everyone hates Silver Moon, and even cast him aside. They only hoped Liola to come back quickly, and hoped Silver Moon would forever disappear; however, we seemed to forget, Silver Moon indeed exists. Silver Moon is Liola’s true, original form, and it’s the personality you’ve used before to escape from pain…”
“Nevertheless, when Liola had companions, even when in pain, there was no need for Silver Moon anymore. Silver Moon… therefore became an orphan, an existence that was hated. Even your companions don’t like Silver Moon.”
“The only person who had ever accepted ‘Silver Moon’, was the one and only Anise.”
Silver Moon’s body had completely froze. These words stroke the pain and hunger hidden deepest within Silver Moon’s heart, and then unearthed all of them. He no longer knew what he was feeling; was it happiness, unwillingness, or perhaps anger? It was as if all emotions had been mixed together, and he felt his chest was about to explode.
“My brother, Silver Moon, can you call me ‘brother’? I’ve never heard you call me that, even until now.”
Silver Moon raised his head, and asked with a trembling voice, “What did you call me?”
“Silver Moon, my brother.” Mocha smiled lightly.
With the words “Silver Moon” and “brother”, Silver Moon seemed to have completely broken down. All the intertwined emotions seemed to have became tears and ran down his cheeks. Looking at the blood running down Mocha’s body, Silver Moon’s face turned pale. He fell to his knees, with tears streaming down, he wept, “B-brother… sorry, sorry!”
Mocha didn’t answer. After a stagger, his bloodied body fell down…
“Mocha!”, “Brother!”
Everyone ran up, but Mocha seemed to have mustered his strength, and maintained a kneeling position. He waved his hand towards them, gesturing them not to come up.
“Brother, I am the one who should be sorry.” Mocha’s words were mixed with bitterness, “If it weren’t for my predictions, you wouldn’t have landed in strange lands; if it weren’t for my negligence, you wouldn’t have been controlled by the Dragon Emperor; if it weren’t…”
“No!” Silver Moon suddenly raised his head, and shook it desperately, “Brother, don’t apologize, don’t!”
Mocha smiled lightly, and spread his arms. He encircled his brother with them, and whispered to his ear, “You are Silver Moon, you are also Liola. You don’t need to withhold your emotionless side, and you definitely should never cast away any of yourself.”
A hug… other than Anise, no one had ever touched Silver Moon. Most people would hurriedly avoid him after seeing Silver Moon’s eyes, or their faces would be filled with disgust. Now, there was finally another person who would treat Silver Moon with warmth and hug. He couldn’t help but hug Mocha back with his trembling arms; he hugged tightly, unwilling to ever let go.
“Brother, I’ll listen to you.”
Silver Moon — or perhaps Liola, now that there was no longer a distinction between the two — slowly let go, hoping to see his brother’s smile again. But as soon as he had done so, Mocha’s body slowly fell down…
Silver Moon froze. When he woke from this daze, he couldn’t catch Mocha in time. Mocha slowly fell to the ground, with his black hair spread on the ground, and his purple eyes half closed. His breathing was labored and hurried, and the pool of blood underneath him slowly spread.
Liola didn’t know what to do. He hurriedly climbed up. He transferred his Ki into Mocha’s body, while not caring whether or not it would actually help; he also pleaded while doing so, “No! Please don’t die like Anise!”
Receiving the support of Liola’s Ki, Mocha’s breath became slightly smoother, but he knew, this was the brief moment of clarity before his death. Before he would undoubtedly fall, Mocha still had a few things to say. He smiled as he look towards Liola, whom was no longer his cold former self, but he did not have Liola’s blank expression either; his face was filled with panic and fear, like a child who had just stepped out of his home for the first time.
“Liola… or Silver Moon… now I don’t even know what to call you anymore.” Mocha slowly reached out his hand towards Liola, whom immediately grabbed it and held tightly in his hand.
“Liola, brother, call me Liola.” Liola said timidly, like a child who had just learnt of his own name.
“Promise me something, okay?”
Liola nodded immediately. The person who would obey the most at this moment would be none other than Mocha. Even if Mocha were to ask him to kill someone, he might not be able to say no.
“From now on, live for yourself.” Mocha’s purple eyes stared directly at Liola, and said slowly, “Only you can decide the path you walk, brother, you have to live for your own happiness, and don’t let anything stand in your way.”
Living for himself? Liola froze, and nodded instinctively.
“You!” Mocha smiled bitterly, “Didn’t I just tell you, you have to live for yourself? Why would you promise me so easily?”
Liola frowned. So should he promise or not? He was clueless as to what he should do.
Seeing his brother frustrated, Mocha couldn’t help but laugh a bit. However, he suddenly felt empty in his chest, to the point where he couldn’t feel his heart. He knew, by now, his time was almost up…
“Liola, just do what you want to do,” Mocha murmured, at a voice so quiet that almost nobody could hear him, “I truly hope that… you wouldn’t be in pain again, and I truly hope that you wouldn’t kill Caffey… not just for Caffey’s sake, but also for your own…”
Mocha slowly closed his purple eyes. No matter how much Ki Liola kept sending, the practically non-existent breaths ceased to exist…
Younger brother and younger sister, the person who should’ve sacrificed… was the elder brother…
“Eldest brother!” Lanski climbed up hurriedly. After staring Mocha for a long while, her trembling hand reached up towards Mocha’s nose. Before her finger moved away, her tears had already rolled down her face. Her tears were obvious enough to everyone else that Mocha was no longer breathing.
“No——” Liola gave out a roar like a wounded beast.
Lanski wept quietly. Other people slowly walked up; Lancelot and Blood Wolf’s faces were dark, but Cappuccino’s face was pale as snow, for he was the one who spent the most time with his eldest brother. His death impacted Cappuccino the most, to the point where he didn’t even know how to react.
Without saying anything to one another, Lancelot and Blood Wolf both lifted their right fist and held it on their left chest, performing a Knight’s salute with the utmost respect towards the eldest Prince.
After the blow had finally sank into him, Liola was completely absentminded, to the point where things blurred in front of his eyes. He had, once again, killed someone who was important to him. He slowly raised his hands, and the palms were covered with Mocha’s warm blood. He couldn’t help but remember his brother’s warm smile.
The things he want to do… Then, what did he want to do now? Liola’s eyes slowly focused around the people around him. He saw Mocha quietly lying on the floor, quiet as if he were asleep, this was his eldest brother; he saw Lanski putting her head against Mocha’s chest and crying, this was his twin sister; and he saw Cappuccino burying his face in his palms, trying desperately to refrain from crying, this was his elder brother.
Everything, was caused by him.
“Liola?”
Jasmine was the first one to pay attention to Liola. After seeing his face horrifically pale, she called out to him with worry. Liola looked towards her, eyes filled with self-blame and helplessly. Jasmine’s heart pounded; her senses told her that Liola was about to do something she didn’t want to see. As that thought entered her mind, Liola did a backflip, and jumped onto Baolilong’s back.
“No!”
Jasmine took a deep breath, and panickedly ran towards Liola. With the Sacred White Dragon’s speed, there was no way for her to catch up. In the blink of an eye, the Dragon had already lifted off and bolted away.
“Liola!”
Though she knew it was useless, but Jasmine still had to yell as loud as she could towards what was now a small dot in the air.
* * *
‘Master, where to?’
Baolilong asked with confusion. Though it obeyed its master and immediately left, but Liola didn’t give it a specific destination, or even a direction.
Liola paused, and answered irrelevantly, “Don’t call me master anymore; you can call me like how you used to.”
“Can I really? I can call you papa?” Baolilong was shocked, and its tone was clearly happy.
Liola nodded.
“Papa! Baolilong can call papa now. Baolilong hates saying master, so strange, papa is better.”
Having received Liola’s approval, Baolilong seemed to have noticed Liola’s difference again, and it immediately began to become chatty again, with “papa” here and there. Its originally stable flying under Silver Moon’s control had become unstable again: tilting left, then right; after seeing Liola didn’t seem to have any unhappy reaction, Baolilong returned to its former self with its 8 shaped flying again, and its “roller coaster Dragon” mode had activated again…
“Papa, papa, where are we going?” After flying happily for a long while, Baolilong finally remembered to ask Liola where they were going.
Hearing this question, Liola said blankly, “I-I don’t know; I just didn’t want to continue to stay there. Eldest brother said I could do what I wanted to do… I just wanted to leave.”
“Then let’s go find Kaiser! Baolilong misses Purity, and also Flames.” Baolilong said naturally. When it mentioned Purity, for some reason, its mouth began to water.
Kaiser, Purity, Daylight, and Meinan… Liola hesitated, just for a brief moment. He immediately nodded. The reason was simple: he missed them, and now, he could do what he wanted.
‘Then let’s go find Kaiser and others.’