Chapter 43 Chapter Thirty-eight

sixth day two hours later, At the last hour of the sixth day, will turn into the night of the seventh day, We're in "Africa's End"... Chapter Thirty-eight morning prayer Malachi fell to the ground and died after singing the "Sedrun" ascending chant We went downstairs to morning prayers.In the dark night before dawn, the dense fog has not yet dispersed.As I walked through the corridors, the moisture seeped into my bones, making me feel even more sore after a night of insomnia.Although it was cold in the chapel, I felt relaxed kneeling under the cupola, the warmth of other bodies and the whisper of silent prayer comforting my soul.

When the hymn was just being sung, William pointed to the seat opposite us. There was an empty seat between George and Pacificus of Tivoli. That was Malachi's seat. He used to sit next to the blind old man. .I caught a glimpse of the dean looking at the position with concern.Of course, it's now clear to everyone that empty seats always herald bad news.I noticed again the unusual nervousness of old George sitting on the other side.His face was still unfathomable because of the blank white eyes, but his hands shook uneasily.In fact, he groped for the seat next to him more than once, as if to test whether someone was sitting.At short intervals, he repeated the gesture, as if hoping that the absentee would appear at any moment, in case he could not be found.

I whispered to William, "Where might the librarian go?" William replied: "Now that book belongs to Malachi alone. If he is not the murderer, then he may not know the danger involved in that book..." There is nothing left to say, we just have to wait.We waited, William and I, staring at the empty Dean, and George, who kept probing the darkness with his hands. At the end of the service, the abbot reminded the monks and novices that they must prepare for Christmas. At Mass, therefore, it is customary for all monks to rehearse the hymns to be sung that day before the morning service.This group of pious people has practiced in the chorus for many years to sing harmoniously, blending into a single heart, as if it was sung by one person.

The dean led them to sing "Sedrun". I wondered if the dean deliberately chose this ascension chant, and sang it on the day when Christ was tortured, praying to fight against the evil king.The king's messengers are still in the chapel, and this chant is a good reminder to them that for centuries our order has been forced to resist the persecution of the high and powerful because it has a special union with God.This hymn does have a majestic momentum from the beginning. ※Bandhammer Academy's E-Book※ The first stanza is a solemn and gentle chorus, the overlapping voices of dozens of people filled the entire chapel, drifting over our heads, as if rising from the center of the earth.The muffled voice continued, even after other voices joined in, without stopping.Each extended syllable is like an eternal continuation, the prayer is sung, and the singing voice joined by the trainee monk rises from the low to high, and the reverberation is lingering.My heart was intoxicated with sweet vibrations, those voices seemed to speak of a heart that cannot bear the richness of emotion, expressing joy, sorrow, praise and love through singing.At the same time, the lingering echo seems to represent the threat of the enemy, the powerful who persecute God's people, which still exists today.

While "Sedrun" continued, "Prince" sounded solemnly and harmoniously. I no longer ask myself who the powerful are against us, the ghost of menace has drifted away, gone. I believe that the other ghosts also disappeared at the same time, because after I listened to the carol intently, I looked at Malachi's seat again and saw the figure of the librarian among the others, singing together, as if He was never absent.I looked at William and saw a relaxed look in his eyes, and the dean who was far away was obviously also relieved.As for George, he held out his hands again, and drew them back as soon as he touched the body of his neighbor.But I don't see why he feels that way.

The psalm being sung now is "Closer to Me", the "a" sound in the word is cheerfully passing through the chapel, and even the "u" sound is not serious, but it is full of divine vitality.Due to the rules of chorus, the singing monks and apprentice monks straightened their backs, let go of their throats, and raised their heads. Exhale the air in your chest under pressure.However, it was not yet dawn at this time, and although the accompaniment horns were loud, the fog of sleep still enveloped many singers. They may have become depressed in the long tune, nodding their heads sleepily from time to time.At this time, those who are awake will walk over with a lamp and shake them, so that their bodies and souls are awake again.

So it was a sane monk who first noticed that Malachi's body was shaking in a strange way, as if he were suddenly thrown back into the unfinished nightmare of last night.The man approached him with a lantern, illuminating his face and drawing my attention.Malachi didn't respond.The man touched him, and Malachi fell forward suddenly.The moment before he fell to the ground, the monk held him up. The singing slowed down, then stopped, and there was a brief moment of confusion.William immediately jumped up and rushed to Ficifeka's position, when the monk with the lamp had already put the unconscious Malachi on the ground.

We ran to him almost at the same time as the dean.In the light we saw the poor man's face.I have described Malachi's features, but then, in the dim light, it was like a portrait of death: sharp nose, hollow eyes, sunken temples, white oaths, wrinkled ears turned upside down. In addition, the skin on the face is tight and dry, and the cheeks are yellowish, a dark shade.The eyes were still open, and a faint breath was exhaled from the dry lips.He opened his mouth, and when I bent down with William, I saw his blackened tongue between his two rows of teeth.William put his hands around Malachi's shoulders and lifted him up, wiping the sweat from his brow with his other hand.Malachi felt someone touch him and stared straight ahead, but couldn't see, let alone recognize who was in front of him.He raised a trembling hand, grabbed Willem by the front of his lapel, and pulled his face closer until they almost touched, and then hissed a few words: "What he told me...really...it With the power of a thousand scorpions..."

"Who told you?" William asked him. "Who?" Malachi tried to speak again, but suddenly his whole body trembled violently, and his head fell back. His face had lost all color, and all signs of life were gone.he died. William stood up.He noticed that the dean was standing beside him, but he didn't say a word to him.Then, he saw Bernard Guy following closely behind the dean. "Lord Bernard," William asked, "after you have found out the criminals shrewdly and put them in custody, who will kill them?" "Don't ask me." Bernard said, "I never said that I have handed over all the prisoners hiding in this monastery to the law. If I could, I would certainly be happy to do so." He looked at William, " But the rest I have to leave to the Headmaster to be stern...or lenient."

The dean turned pale, but he remained silent. Bernard took the lead slightly, turned and left. Just then we heard a choked sob.It was George, supported by a monk, who apparently knew everything. "It's going on and on..." he said bitterly. "Oh God, forgive us all!" William bent over again to inspect.He took the dead man's wrist and turned his palm toward the light.The tips of the first three fingers of Malachi's right hand were blackened.