Embers of Embers

Chapter 166 Power
The temperature inside the cabin is extremely low, as if winter is hidden inside. A thin layer of frost covers every corner, and the liquid in the container is slightly frozen.
Under the mirror of the epidemic doctor's mask, his eyes were wild, heavy breathing came from the filter mouth, and a faint white mist rose from under the bird's mouth.
His body began to tremble, as if he was too excited, and many strange bulges appeared under the robe, which seemed to be unable to support the human form.
The eyes hidden under the mask stared straight ahead, a faint blue light came on, and everything was covered with a cold tone, and his voice was almost distorted.
"So...are there really any so-called angels?"
He looked back at Dean Lawrence, his body shaking with excitement.
"No, to be precise, the word 'angel' is a word created to allow us to understand its form. As for what it is, an angel or a demon, we don't know."
Dean Lawrence spoke slowly, looking ahead with a smile at the most perfect work in human history.
It was a pale corpse, dead for an unknown period of time, just like the victims recorded in the Gospels. It had its hands spread out and was nailed to the cross.
The ancient shocking power reverberated. He was clearly inside the steamship, surrounded by the port of Rendona, but the epidemic doctor heard a shallow chant ringing in his ears, as if there was an invisible orchestra singing in mourning, mourning this dead person. The presence.
The barrier of time and space was broken, and the sacred existence came to the present world throughout history, showing the mortals its great achievements.
Then the milky white gas slowly overflowed from its bottom, spreading through the surrounding sea of ​​candles, causing the sea of ​​fire to ripple. It enveloped the epidemic doctor, and thousands of invisible hands grasped it, revealing the miracle of the kingdom of heaven.
This is an indescribable scene, like some kind of mysterious ritual, with a sacred color, but the rational machine tightly imprisoned the pale corpse, and the low-temperature gas that was constantly circulating cooled it, and the dry skin Severely dehydrated, the holy silver nails were hammered into every joint on the corpse, as if suppressing the soul that longed to return.
Past and present, sacred religion and technological machinery are entangled.
The epidemic doctor walked heavily, stepping on the melted and solidified wax oil, and finally stood in front of the execution cross. He carefully observed the pale corpse.
All its hair has fallen off, its eyes are tightly closed, its face is indistinguishably neutral, handsome yet seductively beautiful, and it is smooth when looking down, with no primary sexual characteristics.
It's not a human being, it's just a human-like creature...
In fact, the epidemic doctor knew it clearly at the first sight. Of course he knew that the corpse in front of him was not a human corpse, but that it was that sacred existence, that sacred remains... But he still couldn't believe it.
Believe they really exist.
he murmured.
"Angel……"
So his gaze rose again to look at the sides of the corpse. They were new branches growing along the back. They were completely different from human physiological structures, like abnormally grown pieces of meat, but the doctor knew what they were.
Those rugged wings were spread out with all their strength, and countless holy silver nails were firmly nailed to them, just like specimens.
At this moment, he was not aware of his abnormality, because observing this unspeakable existence, his eyeballs under the mask were already covered with bloodshot eyes. As the epidemic doctor saw more, the invisible pressure was destroying his eyes more and more quickly. Body.
That is taboo information, that unobservable image. Just looking directly at it will bear the corrosive pressure.
But the epidemic doctor didn't feel it. The nerve perception began to be paralyzed, and the flesh and blood were twisted and torn.
At the upper end, the extremely low-temperature gas slowly fell, glowing with a faint blue light. As it spread over the pale corpse, countless small inscriptions on the corpse lit up slightly, but then dimmed immediately. .
The confinement of low temperature goes from top to bottom, forming a strange cycle, a lost alchemical matrix, constantly soothing the flesh and blood that has recovered from hibernation, and making it sleep forever.
"It's so beautiful..."
The epidemic doctor looked at the pale cheek, as if it was not dead, but just sleeping. The neutral appearance was constantly distorted in his eyes, and finally turned into a stunning makeup, which was so beautiful that the epidemic doctor could not help but feel his heart beat faster.
Stretching out his hand, he gently stroked that peerless face. She seemed to be just sleeping. The doctor's movements were very gentle, not wanting to disturb her sleep. But at the moment of contact, the doctor saw it.
The frozen blood started to flow again, the dry skin became fresh and tender, and the ice sculpture-like body became soft. Life returned to the dead corpse in an instant, and then pure white feathers fell down.
The closed eyes opened slightly, and the lazy white light surged from them, like the scorching sun.
For a moment, the epidemic doctor felt nothing.
After a brief period of unconsciousness, there was severe pain. First, the fingers that came into contact with it. Under the action of the alchemical matrix, the extreme cold froze the epidemic doctor's fingers. Then, the palms and the entire arm were covered with white frost in an instant. Half a body.
High-intensity light like the scorching sun poured directly into the mask of the epidemic doctor. The thick lenses shattered, the eyeballs melted and exploded in an instant, and strange black energy gushes out from under the mask.
The epidemic doctor let out a painful cry, and the heartbreaking pain saved it from the weird illusion. He retreated with his only strength, and then fell to the ground, his arms that had been completely frozen hit the ground. There was a crisp sound, and then like glass, pieces shattered, and the broken gaps could clearly see the cross-sections of flesh, blood and bones.
She had obviously lost her sight, but the epidemic doctor could still see. The angel broke free with a brilliant light, and she lowered her head as if to kiss herself.
"Lawrence!"
The plague doctor roared.
Dean Lawrence walked over slowly. He did not touch the doctor directly. Instead, he pulled out his nail sword and inserted it into the doctor's thigh, dragging him far away.
"are you OK."
He asked casually, but his eyes were looking at the center wrapped in gas. The angel's body was still nailed to the cross. Everything the doctor saw was an illusion.
The erosion is so terrifying that you are already dominated by it without even realizing it.
The dam of reason bursts at the moment of contact, without any warning time.
"I... I was almost killed!"
The epidemic doctor struggled painfully on the ground. Blood continued to gush out from the severed limbs. His eyeballs melted completely. The liquid and blood were mixed together and flowed out from the cracks in the mask.
"I know you won't die...at least not so easily."
Dean Lawrence seemed to have known what would happen to the epidemic doctor, and he was not in a hurry. He just stood aside and waited for his recovery.
Finally, this huge trauma made it difficult for the epidemic doctor to maintain. The robe was stretched open by the proliferated flesh and blood, as if some monster was about to burst out of his body, but when it expanded to the extreme, it shrank back. Then the thin voice sounded.
It was as if there were thousands of worms crawling inside the body of the plague doctor. The damaged parts were abandoned and devoured as nutrients. Then new limbs grew out with blood. After a short period of pain, new eyeballs slowly grew out of the eye sockets. The doctor arched his body, and finally recovered after the severe pain.
"Lawrence, I swear, I will kill you next time."
Panting violently, he collapsed on the ground. This damn feeling felt really uncomfortable.
"I'm doing this for your own good. After all, you're going to deal with it next. No matter how much I warn you, it's more intuitive than letting you feel its horror directly, right?"
Dean Lawrence said, not caring at all that if the epidemic doctor had not escaped just now, he might really die there.
It is the Holy Grail after all, and even its abandoned dead body cannot be shaken by mortals.
"So how does it feel? This stuff is awesome, right."
He praised the source of it all, the starting point of all chaos and disputes.
"Is this... what's in the coffin?"
Trying hard to calm down the panic in his heart, the epidemic doctor looked at the body hidden behind the hazy mist, his eyes full of vigilance.
"Yes, the body of the Holy Grail."
Dean Lawrence said lightly.
"Its will has escaped, but as a container of that will, this corpse still has terrifying power. It is even said that without the suppression of the alchemical matrix, this corpse will be revived... its vitality, without soul, is just the vitality of a walking corpse. "
"Just like cells in a petri dish, they have no consciousness, but they continue to reproduce and divide, right?"
The plague doctor stood up slowly, stepped back slightly, and kept a distance from that thing.
"Don't worry, the Demon Hunting Order already had a mature set of containment measures for it. As long as you don't cross the 'winter' realm, it will be just a specimen."
Dean Lawrence raised his hand and pulled the valve, and more low-temperature gas fell, baptizing the pale corpse. The alchemical matrix called winter imprisoned the corpse, blocking its recovery and erosion.
"When I think about the blood and flesh surgery that I performed for you, I feel that I am lucky to be alive now."
The epidemic doctor was afraid. At that time, Dean Lawrence found him and provided a part of the Holy Grail's flesh and blood for transplantation. He thought that the corpse would dry up and become shapeless, but who could have imagined that the true appearance of the corpse would be so terrifying.
"It's just after careful calculations. The flesh and blood you transplanted for me grew on its own after I removed part of it. The intensity of the erosion was not that severe. Of course, it almost killed me."
As he spoke, he gently touched his chest. This old body still found it difficult to control such power.
"Calculation? Shouldn't the people in your church shout out their faith and then leave everything to their loyalty to God?"
The epidemic doctor was still a little angry, he mocked.
"Faith is just a tool to rule those ignorant people. What can change the world is the technology that utilizes this unknown power."
He was not angry at all, but answered him seriously.
The turbid gaze became sharp, like a nearly broken sword, but it was still sharp enough to cut through steel.
"Epidemic doctor, it's time to show off your talents. I need you to figure out what this thing is...or what exactly is a demon?"
"Me? You almost died just from touching me!"
The plague doctor roared.
"Did you refuse?"
Lawrence suddenly asked, the nailed sword in his hand still dripping with blood.
The two people looked at each other briefly, and then a breathtaking laughter burst out from under the beak mask.
"Yes, how could I refuse? This is a life that does not exist in this world... maybe the truth I long for is hidden in its body?"
"How could I say no?"
With an evil lingering sound, despite the injuries, the epidemic doctor looked extremely happy.
"You impress me, Dean Lawrence."
He said that the previous embarrassment was no longer that he was just pretending. Just as Dean Lawrence said, an injury of that level could not kill him.
If the two people had some disputes over interests and different goals before, then when the body of the Holy Grail was truly displayed in front of the epidemic doctor, all these obstacles disappeared. He knew very well that this was what he wanted. .
"But how can I study it? Once it is separated from the alchemy matrix, it will wake up, right?"
the epidemic doctor asked.
The consciousness that dominated the body no longer existed, but it was the container of the Holy Grail after all, just like the cells that proliferated crazily in the petri dish. Even without consciousness, it was extremely dangerous due to its biological instincts.
"I prepared a lot in advance, and you can start with those things."
As Dean Lawrence spoke, he pulled another valve, and the heavy iron wall fell down to completely wrap and seal the pale corpse. Then, as the gears rotated and engaged, new experimental bodies rose from the ground, one after another of low temperature. In the light blue solution, pale flesh and blood slowly squirmed.
It was an indescribable life form. Obviously they all originated from the Holy Grail, but after being separated, they seemed to be independent existences. Their flesh and blood twisted and stirred, as if they were the embryos of some strange creatures, soaked in the light blue amniotic fluid. Among them, the low temperature limits their activity, and like their mother, they fall asleep.
"This is the flesh and blood tissue taken off of it, and you can start from here."
The transplanted flesh and blood on Dean Lawrence's chest came from here. After opening the sacred coffin, he only had a short time to cut off part of the flesh and blood tissue, and sealed the rest for containment.
The epidemic doctor admired the flesh and blood. Although he was prepared, the astonishing erosion when he got close still made him palpitate.
"It's hard to imagine...how your Demon Hunting Order became aware of such an existence in the first place."
he admired.
That terrifying erosion, even under the suppression of the alchemical matrix, can easily destroy the epidemic doctor's defense line, let alone its heyday when it was not contained.
Mere knowledge of it, let alone knowledge of its existence, would drive one into madness.
But the Demon Hunting Sect did it, not only found it, but also contained it.
It's like catching a glimpse of a huge thing. The former power of the Demon Hunting Order was so profound and terrifying. It was a group that could truly fight against despair, the flame bearer who lit up the night.
"That was a long time ago."
Dean Lawrence said calmly, as if he didn't want to recall too much about this matter.
Although its former glory no longer exists, there are still various doubts about the power of the Demon Hunting Order.
"But before studying these, there is one more thing you need to do, Epidemic Doctor."
He turned and looked at the doctor.
"what's up?"
The doctor asked. He was extremely excited at this moment. He even felt that the ultimate secret about the demon was here, on the bottom floor of the steamship, in the pale corpse.
"An interesting plan."
Dean Lawrence stretched out his hand. Under the scarlet robe was an old and stiff body.
"The flesh and blood of the Holy Grail is not effective in transforming my body. It just barely extends the life of this body."
He looked at the epidemic doctor, and then opened his clothes. The twisted flesh and blood occupied most of his chest, but the strange thing was that the deformed flesh and blood hung on his body like a tumor...like a parasite. , absorbing the vitality of Dean Lawrence.
"So the transplant still failed?"
The doctor's eyes turned cold. He knew very well what the situation was. The flesh and blood of the Holy Grail was eroding Dean Lawrence. It was hard to imagine that when the flesh and blood completely merged and grew, what he saw in front of him was Dean Lawrence or something else.
"There's no failure, it's just that I'm too old... I need a younger body."
Dean Lawrence coughed hard several times. As he said, he was too old. This body had experienced too much and could no longer withstand the power from the Holy Grail. He had begun to be unable to resist the resurrected power and could not Cut it off.
He is still powerful, but with his nourishment, the flesh and blood of the Holy Grail is also awakening. The biological instinct will rob the life of Dean Lawrence, and the balance between him and him is gradually tilting.
When Reverend Lawrence gained ultimate power from the flesh and blood of the Holy Grail, it was also when the flesh and blood of the Holy Grail completely eroded Reverend Lawrence.
"So? I behead you and transplant your head into another body before you die?"
The epidemic doctor said that this kind of thing is simply unrealistic.
"No, this doesn't require those, all it needs is an alchemical matrix."
His voice was tired.
"Remember what I said? Epidemic doctor, about the [gap]."
"It is a weird and mysterious spiritual world, and after the Holy Grail is strengthened, I can travel through the [gap]... In fact, this power is not complete, just as the demon hunter needs the alchemical matrix engraved on his body to awaken the secret blood. Just like power, this power of [gap] shuttle also requires the assistance of the alchemical matrix."
"Mystic blood is steel, and the alchemical matrix is ​​a furnace. I mold it into a sword. I am just using it arbitrarily and cannot bring it to its fullest potential."
"Does that mean you can become young again if you exert yourself to the extreme?"
The epidemic doctor laughed and said that this is an unrealistic power. No one can return to youth. It is the power to reverse time.
"It's just that you will have other people's youth."
Dean Lawrence responded.
"Through the erosion of the [gap], I can erode another person's [gap] and destroy his will, thereby killing him, or influencing him, or even using him as a link to expand people on a large scale."
This is the power of erosion, the ever-expanding virality.
"so what?"
Epidemiologists do not understand that the evangelical church possesses unimaginable mystical and taboo knowledge.
“What if I took that person’s [gap]?”
he said suddenly.
The epidemic doctor was in a daze at first, and then felt the coldness from the bottom of his heart, which was even weirder and more terrifying than when he faced the Holy Grail.
The forbidden power was touched, and the crazy suffocation tortured the minds of mortals.
Although the Holy Grail has terrifying power, the Epidemic Doctor also has his own confidence. With his power, no one can kill him completely, but what if it is from a spiritual level?
[Gap] is a person’s spiritual world. What if Dean Lawrence banned that [Gap]?
"The existence of [Gap] is very interesting. I even think it is related to the nature of the demon. I can use it to affect expansion, and I can also use it to kill a person."
He continued.
"When a person's will is destroyed in the [gap], it is equivalent to killing his consciousness, his soul, and sometimes you can also perceive his memory, etc..."
This was the source of Lorenzo's confusion, the chaotic memories he saw in chaotic hallucinations after killing Horner's will.
"But if it's complete lodging... is it actually like a soul transfer? Or is it a will transfer? It actually means almost the same thing."
The epidemic doctor looked at him in horror, and then asked.
"Are you trying to replace that girl?"
He was referring to Seleucid Stuart. As a collaborator of Dean Lawrence, he knew very well what Dean Lawrence did, but he didn't expect him to do this.
Dean Lawrence shook his head and said.
"How is it possible? She has other uses."
"Of course it has something to do with the demon hunter from the Medanzo branch. I'm really curious which of my apprentices will survive."
On that burning night, in Father Lawrence's script, these people should have died and slept under the dark night.
"Then, coming back to this matter, Epidemic Doctor, we humans and demons are different after all. Even if we usurp the power of the secret blood, we are still at risk of losing control, and we also need the assistance of the alchemy matrix."
"Actually, this power is very interesting. It's like a thick book. We can't turn to the page we need accurately. The alchemy matrix acts as a catalog, giving us what we need, but it also Due to the limitations of the cowardly human body, when we get these, we can no longer bear others.”
Dean Lawrence recalled the rules that belonged to the demon hunters. It was like a container. Human beings themselves limited how much they could obtain.
"Therefore, the demon hunter can only draw one kind of power from the secret blood. Multiple powers only exist in theory. But even if it is really established and the demon hunter survives, it will accelerate the collapse of the demon hunter. Perhaps while successfully stimulating multiple powers, the body and will will collapse due to the erosion of the secret blood."
"In other words, the so-called alchemy matrix actually protected you?"
the epidemic doctor asked.
Those powers are all hidden in the secret blood, but through the alchemy matrix, the demon hunter can only awaken one of them in a targeted manner and control it perfectly.
"Yes, but I am a demon hunter. Although I can mobilize part of the power of the [Gap] with the blessing of the Holy Grail, I am not perfect after all, and I cannot achieve the level of suppressing the will."
Dean Lawrence is also groping for the power of [Gap]. With the help of "Revelation", he understands this power much more clearly than Lorenzo, but because of this he knows exactly what he needs.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"Inscribe a new alchemical matrix."
Dean Lawrence said directly, his voice carrying the biting cold wind.
"Plural powers can only be established in theory. That's because the demon hunter's body is still too weak, but it's different now. The Plague Doctor, the Holy Grail is eroding my flesh and blood. I have never been stronger, and I have never been stronger." There have been times when death was near.”
Just like the fireworks in the dark night, when they are most brilliant, they will also disappear in the night.
The doctor looked at those trusting eyes. The old man looked like he completely trusted the doctor, as if he knew that everything would be successful.
"Then whose body do you want to invade?"
the epidemic doctor asked.
Dean Lawrence smiled and said that he already had a candidate in mind.
"The surviving demon hunter Metanzo, I fought against him. He will be a very good carrier. It's a pity that after occupying that body, I can't continue to use Shang Dafeng's power."
The alchemy matrix on Lorenzo's body points to the power of Metanzo, which means that if Dean Lawrence invades Lorenzo's body, he will abandon this aging body and give up the alchemy that points to the power of Shanda. matrix.
This is really a pity. Dean Lawrence has used this power of prediction for a long time, and he is a little reluctant to think about losing it.
"Don't worry, I have been a leader for so long after all. I know the inscription process of the alchemy matrix, and I will guide you."
Dean Lawrence looked at the silent epidemic doctor and said, the reason why the epidemic doctor is needed is because Dean Lawrence cannot complete this matter alone.
Of course, he is not afraid of the Plague Doctor's rebellion midway. Not to mention the power of foreknowledge, the Holy Grail flesh and blood in Dean Lawrence's body will give him powerful vitality, and one of the reasons why he needs the alchemy matrix is ​​that he has independently invaded the society. There is a huge risk, and he doesn't know whether he will succeed. The alchemical matrix will clearly direct the power, allowing him to perfectly control this power.
During the long silence, the epidemic doctor shook his head and said.
"It's not these Father Lawrences I'm thinking about."
The epidemic doctor looked at Dean Lawrence and asked.
"Pointing to the alchemical matrix that controls the [Gap]..."
He spied something, with the cold feeling of exploring the secret.
"That is to say...manipulating [Gap] is also a kind of power, right?"
In other words, there is such a mysterious group of demon hunters, and their power is to wander in the [gap].
This is not the power given by the Holy Grail. It has always existed, but no one has discovered it.
Looking at the frightened eyes under the mask, Dean Lawrence replied meaningfully.
"Yes."
(End of this chapter)