Embers of Embers

Chapter 108 St. Mary’s Cathedral
The night once again shrouded the old Dunling. The moonlight could only reveal a slight brightness in the gloom, slightly lighting up the heavy lead ash. The huge steel whale swam in the clouds in the night sky in the icy cold wind. The dazzling bright light swept down, stirring the turbid fog.
Sigg walked on the foggy streets. In winter, the weather in Old Dunling is extremely cold and humid. Huge steam gushes out from the underground pipes, and the warm gas that has not yet cooled brings up a thin mist. It is cold everywhere. Can be avoided.
His cheeks were a little thin, and he was shaking as if he had lost his soul.
In fact, this was not his way home. Under the gaze of the street lamp, Sigg could not bear the restlessness in his heart. It seemed that there was another voice whispering in his ear, urging him to step into the abyss of sin.
"Damn! Damn!"
Sigur suddenly cursed angrily, with an unbearable ferocity on his pale and sick face. He kicked the street lamp beside him angrily, making bursts of iron noise. Then Sigur seemed to calm down, and his reflection was reflected in the shallow water under his feet. Looking at his ugly face.
He was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't believe that the person in the water could be himself. Then, a painful scream came from his throat. He stumbled to the corner of the street, sat directly beside the garbage dump, and grasped it tightly. Hair, curled up.
Pedestrians did not cast their eyes on him, because there are many people like Higg, and every day in Old Dunling, many people will fall under the pressure. Some people choose to leave this suffocating city, and some choose to degenerate. Downtown became their new home.
Hig slowly raised his head in the darkness, his eyes full of exhaustion, like a dying person.
He was in pain, very much.
In fact, contrary to what Lorenzo thought, Sigg did not work overtime at the factory during this period. He was fired from the factory a long time ago because he was discovered by his boss to be taking hallucinogens.
The factory was trying to win the production of new steam trams, and there were several other factories competing with it. In order to securely win this order, these factories fought secretly several times, and many of them sent reporters to sneak into the factory to check. Workers' working conditions, as well as some other aspects, were subsequently suppressed in public opinion.
The boss was obviously scared. In order not to be caught, he directly fired Higg. After all, the official attitude towards hallucinogens was very bad, and he didn't want to lose such a large amount of business because of such a trivial matter.
So Sigg lost his job, just because he took hallucinogens, but every machinist in the factory was using this stuff.
Those mechanics felt that this thing would allow them to enter a heavenly environment, and it was the best relief product in a high-temperature and oppressive place like a factory.
He couldn't believe it all at first. Sigg tried to stay, but was ruthlessly kicked out by the security guards. He hung out on the street for a long time, and finally returned to Cork Street in a daze.
This is a big gap. One moment he was a very prosperous mechanic, but the next moment he was on the street. Sigg also tried to apply for jobs elsewhere, but no one needed a mechanic who took hallucinogens. Not to mention that this is Old Dunling, where the world's first steam engine was born, and mechanics who are extremely rare in the outside world can be seen everywhere here.
What a bad day.
Sigg's background was not good. He was born in a family that was not considered wealthy. In order to satisfy his mechanical dream, Sigg worked in a bakery for a long time and used all his savings to buy a ticket to Old Dunling. Train tickets.
He still remembers the feeling at that time. Sigg stuck his head out of the car window and looked at the scenery that kept passing behind him. There was no sadness in his heart about leaving home, but uncontrollable ecstasy.
Sigg left. At that time, he saw that the world was only divided into two parts. One was the town where he had lived since he was a child, and outside the train tracks was the new world. The wild dog happily ran towards the inexplicable unknown. For what happened next? He doesn't care about anything.
There is nothing to be sad about. Although Sigg took the train for several days at that time, there was no so-called tiredness in his mind, because he knew that in every second that passed, the distance between him and the old Dunling was smaller. Keep getting closer.
We are almost there, the place we yearn for.
The hazy mist condensed on the window railing above his head, and the water droplets that had not yet solidified fell. The cold touch made Sigg wake up for a while, but after he woke up, he thought of Mrs. Van Rude's face again.
Every time he thought of that ferocious yet kind face, Sigg felt pain like never before.
He was like a wild dog that was stumbling around. When he was freezing and shivering in the alley, Mrs. Van Roode took him in. At that time, she was not as violent as she is now, so he became the earliest tenant of 121A Cork Street.
Mrs. Van Lud is like a relative to Higg. Although she is not very kind, she has made Higg, without her Higg would have frozen to death in a certain night.
Therefore, every time he faced Mrs. Van Lud, Higg felt an unspeakable sense of guilt, as if he had let her down. He didn't want Mrs. Van Lud to find out about this, and he was even thinking about moving out Cork Street, it was better to leave without saying goodbye than to stand before her in shame.
Standing up slowly, Sigg continued walking. Suddenly he looked up and saw a strange street scene. It seemed that Sigg had come to a strange place in his confusion, but he had lived in Old Dunling for a long time. , and he never thought that one day he would become a stranger to this city.
There are many tall buildings, and they look like the minions of countless monsters under the dark night. The street lights are also different from what I am familiar with. Due to the abnormal development of old Dunling, there are actually many areas that do not have electricity. It seems that the same is true here. , all gas lamps, in the fog not far away, there is a lamplighter walking forward, and as he passes, one light after another lights up.
The night was already dark, but he didn't want to go home yet. He hated Mrs. Van Roode's stern kindness. He rarely felt the presence of tenderness from others. Compared with his parents who kicked him out of the house, she was simply Sigg's heart. A light inside.
But he didn't want this light to disappoint him. As he walked in confusion, a huge building poked out from the fog, and dots of light flickered in it. Sigg was slightly shocked, and then heard the faint chant.
This is a church.
Hundreds of years ago, Inverg also surrendered to the powerful Holy Papal State. Through those white-robed missionaries and the sword-wielding Knights Templar, the Evangelical Church also entered Inverg's world. , although in recent years, Ying Erweg has forgotten its existence, but there are still many churches in the old Dunling today, but they are obscured by the buildings built in the later period. You can only hear the faint sound of the Holy Spirit. Singing and praying, but unable to find the existence of the building.
But what surprised Sigg was that the church was not covered up at all, and it just appeared so openly in the streets. Behind the steel gate was the church's illuminated door, with countless gargoyles on it. , guarding this sacred place.
Sigg seemed to remember where this place was. This is St. Mary's Cathedral. This area in Dongcheng District was once a gathering place for believers of the Evangelical Church. However, as the number of believers gradually decreased, this place became lonely. Even the name Also forgotten, Higger also read about it in the book.
The entire church is built with white stone. The pure color is pure and not stained with any filth even at night. Many people have forgotten its name and instead call this place by this remarkable feature.
Whitechapel.
Just as Sigg was thinking, the iron door suddenly opened. A man who seemed to be a priest was standing not far away and looking at him with a smile. His hair was gray and his face was full of wrinkles. But in the middle of the cold winter night, Shige actually felt a little warmth under his gaze, like sunshine.
"Excuse me……"
"You must be very confused, right? Do you need me to listen to you?"
Without waiting for Sigg to say anything, the priest spoke first. Then he turned sideways, as if to invite Sigg, and the door of the White Church slowly opened.
Sigg wanted to refuse. He did not believe in any so-called gods. As a mechanic, he believed in absolute reason and reality. Compared with the nihilistic gods, he believed that machines could be omnipotent when reached to the extreme. So omnipotent What is the difference between machinery and gods?
That's what he thought, but for a moment he didn't refuse. As if he had received some instructions, he nodded inexplicably, and then walked into the white church.
……
"So where are we going?"
Lorenzo sat on the carriage, and the scenery outside the window flew by. At this moment, they were speeding down the streets of Old Dunling, and the speeding wind stirred up the fog, as if a ghost was running wildly.
"Headquarters of the Purification Agency, Mr. Holmes, if your speculation is true, Old Dunling will face an unprecedented threat at this moment."
Compared to the careless Lorenzo, Joey's expression at this moment is undoubtedly much more serious. He is like a cold weapon, just waiting for the enemy to appear.
"But this is just a conjecture."
"But your so-called conjecture is just a possibility. Within the purification agency, we have deduced several plans for the collapse of the city and the division of the kingdom, and proposed different solutions to the plans. The final result is that some plans are really happened, and with our foresight the situation was well contained and resolved."
Joey said and looked out the window to determine the location. It seemed that this guy was really in a hurry.
"In other words, according to the normal historical process, your purification agency and even Yin Erweg may have been destroyed several times?"
Lorenzo was a little surprised. What Joey said was like a prophecy within the Demon Hunting Order. The demon hunters of the Shangda branch always predicted the death dates of others. The two were actually similar, but What Joey said was much more true.
"To be precise, we have avoided the possibility of those destructions. Since that period of destruction has been avoided, the history does not exist at all."
"Like branches?"
Lorenzo said, choose one road after another, but these people already know what will come next on this road, and respond accordingly.
"Probably so."
he answered.
The carriage ran wildly through the streets, like a speeding chariot. After running wildly for an unknown amount of time, it finally stopped. At this moment, countless soldiers appeared in front of Lorenzo, pointing directly at them with weapons raised. Riding the carriage, Lorenzo's understanding of the equipment after "cooperating" with the purification agency for so long was that they were all thermite rifles, and one round of firing was enough to melt through everything.
"This is your purification agency headquarters?"
Although Lorenzo did not show any anger on his lips, the secret blood had started to activate, and he did not trust these people very much.
"Please calm down, Mr. Holmes."
The soldiers dispersed, and Kestrel walked out from among them. Lorenzo did not expect it to be him.
"How do you know I'm not calm enough?"
Lorenzo thought that his emotions were well controlled, and there was no possibility of being discovered, but he saw the kestrel raised his hand, on which was a Geiger counter, and its index was rising slightly at the moment.
"I didn't expect that damn thing to be quite sensitive."
Lorenzo said coldly, but the index was still rising, and he didn't intend to give anyone face.
"This is just for safety reasons. After all, you also know that we are just a group of mortals, but we are fighting against demons. What you are going to next is the headquarters of the purification agency. In order to prevent the high-level officials from being corroded by demons, we have done a lot. Kung Fu, these are just security forces.”
The Purification Agency is different from the Demon Hunting Order. They do not have the black technology blessings in "Apocalypse". The only armor technology is obtained from Jiuxia in exchange for precious steam technology.
The noble figures within the Demon Hunting Order are all guarded by the demon hunters of the Metanzo branch. They are the guards of the Kingdom of Heaven. Lorenzo's power is obvious to all, but he is still not the strongest among these sacred guards. , or even only ranked in the middle.
In the history of the Order, there have been examples of demons successfully invading the Seven Hills. However, under the protection of those powerful demon hunters of the Medanzo branch, the Cathedral of Saint-Naro sustained the tide of demons all night. The flowing blood soaked the entire Seven Hills, and the only thing they could do was stain the door of the church red with blood.
At that dawn the doors opened and the Pope, safe and sound, knelt before the Holy Cross, the cardinals following behind him, whispering prayers as loud as the tolling of bells.
But such deeds will never happen again, Lorenzo whispered in his heart.
Finally, Kestrel took out a pair of blindfolds and handed them to Lorenzo.
"that's it?"
"Yes, we don't want the location of the purification agency to be exposed. These soldiers are only guarding here. I will take you there next."
Lorenzo looked at him suspiciously, but finally took the blindfold. If the purification agency had thoughts about him, they would have taken action long ago. There was no need to worry about that. Of course, it was also possible that they had not figured out what to do before that. How to deal with themselves, and now they have found a way.
But Lorenzo didn't make any statement and just put on the blindfold. It seemed to him that he was also a little curious about what the mysterious purification mechanism would look like.
(End of this chapter)