Embers of Embers

Chapter 268 Funeral
This is a very strange feeling, and Lorenzo can't describe it, but he can really feel the sudden anger in his heart. This is not directed at Anthony or others, but a feeling of being played. , as if something has been forgotten, but I feel powerless because I can't remember it anyway.
"You said, I am...Medanzo?"
Lorenzo looked at Anthony, he clenched his fists, his eyes swept over the faces, and then his angry heart suddenly became cold.
Arthur Merlin...all of them had similar eyes to Anthony's, with a little pity and sadness. It seemed that Lorenzo was really some poor guy who had been deceiving himself and others.
"Medanzo is dead. He died on the Night of Holy Advent. I am Lorenzo Holmes, number 042 of the Demon Hunting Order!"
Lorenzo wanted to yell with all his strength, but the words seemed so weak when he reached his mouth.
It all happened so quickly, leaving no time for preparation.
"Why do you continue to deceive? Hiding the truth will only make your situation worse, Mr. Holmes."
Anthony was like a judge, examining the confused lamb bit by bit.
"Your true identity is 047, a demon hunter named Metanzo. During the Night of Advent, you captured the False Holy Grail and escaped from the Holy Gospel Papal Kingdom. After arriving in Old Dunling, you Action continues in the name of Renzo Holmes."
"No! I am 042."
It's very rare. For some reason, Lorenzo rarely lost his mind on this issue of identity. He didn't use deception and cunning to deal with Anthony as before.
He was like a sick fanatic, Lorenzo seemed to be emphasizing his own identity, he was stubborn, as if words were magical, and under this mechanical repetition, everything would come true.
"Unfortunately, your deception ends here, Mr. Holmes."
Anthony continued, confident that he would win.
"042 does not exist. He is just a way you use to deceive others... This is very subtle. Under your story, you successfully disguised your own death and became active as 042."
Lorenzo stared at Anthony, even in the face of the tide-like monsters, the almost incomprehensible Dean Lawrence, and even the desperate night of the Holy Advent, he was not afraid of all of these things, but This time Lorenzo couldn't figure out why this happened.
It seemed that something was about to come out. Countless hands stretched out from places that could not be seen from his stomach, fragile heart, and brain. They were scrambling to break free from this poor body.
In those memories that you don’t want to look back and deliberately forget.
"042...doesn't exist?"
Lorenzo...or 042, he looked at Anthony blankly with confusion, doubts, and unknown fears.
"Literally, 042 does not exist."
Anthony directly denied the existence of 042, while Lorenzo believed in his own existence.
"Actually, this conversation has been planned for a long time. After all, you have also experienced the Night of Holy Advent and are carrying the false Holy Grail. You are in danger, the unknown danger, so in order to completely convince you or make you calm down. Talk to us, we’ve done a lot of preparation.”
Another document was taken out. Lorenzo had long been their target. They had been preparing for today's meeting for too long.
"This is the list of demon hunters. According to the records on the list and the mission records of the Demon Hunters...there is no number 042 in these records...To be precise, the Demon Hunters have not used this number at all. The hunters with this number Demons don’t exist at all.”
The document slid along the smooth tabletop, and the paper was a little yellowed. This was a record before Holy Advent Night, and there was no possibility of forgery.
"You said I... don't exist?"
Lorenzo said with some disbelief.
"You are 047, named Metazord." He replied coldly.
"This is impossible...impossible! I am 042...I...I..."
Lorenzo looked at the document in front of him. He wanted to find something that could prove his identity, but there was nothing.
Arthur remained silent, only to see Lorenzo raise his head in panic. This was the first time Arthur saw Lorenzo like this, like a trapped animal in a cage, hitting the solid iron wall hard, But it has no effect.
"I...the uncanny valley, me and 016 and 011..."
As if grasping at a life-saving straw, Lorenzo's voice trembled.
"You mean Operation Uncanny Valley? Then on the second page, the participants are you, 047, 011, 016. There is no such thing as 042."
Anthony made all the preparations. Lorenzo turned to the second page when he heard this. It was written in familiar handwriting. Although it had been so long, he could still recognize his own handwriting. It was what he had written. I wrote a task report, but the participants were replaced from 042 to 047.
No...no, I do exist, 042 exists, and I am the best proof.
Lorenzo rummaged through the documents in front of him in a panic, but found nothing. No matter how he rearranged the characters, he could never find the point that could prove him.
"Are you still going to pretend to be stupid? Mr. Holmes, your lie has been exposed."
Anthony continued to press.
"No! This is fake, I am 042! Lorenzo Holmes! Metanzo is dead! I witnessed his death with my own eyes!"
Lorenzo finally couldn't bear it any longer and roared angrily, a dazzling light flashing in his eyes. This sign made everyone present nervous.
This is no ordinary trapped beast. He is Lorenzo Holmes, a demon hunter who survived the night of Advent. He is carrying the strange false holy grail. Bad option, maybe this place will be covered in flames of war in the next second.
"Calm down, Lorenzo."
Arthur said duly.
"What are you going to do next? Capture me? Then dissect me?"
Lorenzo's eyes were full of distrust.
Perhaps because of his status as a fan, Lorenzo completely lost his previous composure when he was touched on this point.
"We just want to confirm whether the False Holy Grail is really in your body."
Arthur said loudly, and then his tone softened again, explaining his own position.
"Lorenzo, the prerequisite for cooperation is trust. Our purge agency doesn't care about your past. Even now, you are still a member of the purge agency. The Evangelical Church's declaration of war on you is a declaration of war on us."
As Arthur comforted him, Lorenzo took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then there was severe pain in his mind, as if someone was forcefully opening his head.
"But you concealed the false Holy Grail. According to Anthony, it was an evil product of Advent Night. Most of the participants died on that night. Even now, the Evangelical Church does not know the power of that thing... It's dangerous."
"Then what do you want to do?" Lorenzo asked.
"Cooperate with us to contain this potential danger...or rather, you."
Arthur slowly raised his finger and pointed at Lorenzo.
"No... wait a minute."
Strangely, it was Anthony who interrupted at this time. He looked at Lorenzo, seemed to realize something, and then asked again.
"Lorenzo Holmes, I want to ask you a question again."
Those cold eyes reflected Lorenzo's face, and he seemed to see through everything.
"Who do you think you are?"
"Number 042."
Lorenzo replied without hesitation.
There was silence at first, and then Anthony sighed, with the same pity in his eyes.
"That is to say, you are not deceiving us, are you?"
This sentence was like a sharp sword, piercing Lorenzo's heart fiercely. Although it was nothing, he felt an unspeakable coldness.
"What do you mean?"
This sentence can express too many meanings, Anthony said slowly.
"This is not deception. You think you are 042, not 047. Do you think 047...that is, the original yourself is dead?"
Anthony made a shocking conclusion, and for a moment Lorenzo's mind went blank.
"Lorenzo has a wrong perception of himself?"
Merlin said suddenly.
"For some reason, Metanzo...047, he imagined himself to be a non-existent demon hunter numbered 042, and after recognizing himself as 042, 042 was Lorenzo... Mr. Holmes, you thought you were someone else, someone else who died on Advent Night."
"No...what are you talking about? I am 042! I am here alive! I am the best proof for myself!"
Lorenzo retorted somewhat unacceptable.
"But you are 047! Look at these documents. In order to prepare for this conversation, we have brought all the information about you, from your joining the Evangelical Church when you were young to the outbreak of Advent Night. All of this All the information can piece together a complete life!
No. 047 The life of a witcher! "
Anthony scolded.
"According to your report, 042 and 047 are friends, and 042 is also a demon hunter of Metanzo... But in fact, these materials do not mention the existence of 042 at all, and the records of our demon hunting order have never The number 042 has never been activated."
"So you mean I'm crazy?"
Lorenzo stood up angrily, like a trapped animal fighting.
"I imagined myself to be someone else! Someone who doesn't exist!"
"Isn't it? 047."
Anthony continued.
"Actually, this is all very well proven. Look at those photos and think back to everything about Advent Night."
There are photos one after another on top of the scattered documents. The owners in the photos are all the same person. The only difference is the age when they were taken. They are pieced together to construct a boy who is growing up, and now He is questioning everything.
"If you think you are 042, then what were you doing on the night of Advent? 042!"
Anthony asked from above, that was a nightmare night, a night that Lorenzo would never forget. On that night, his life was completely turned around. He killed Medanzo with his own hands and took over the taboo. False Holy Grail.
"The Stasis Temple was out of control. Medanzo guarded the Gate of Heaven and intercepted the demons who tried to break through the defense line. And I was..."
Lorenzo's recalled words suddenly stopped.
"I……"
It seemed as if an invisible big hand was holding his heart. All the anger and confusion just now dissipated at this moment, leaving only an inexplicable fear.
The fear of his own existence, this long life, the anger he thinks he has, everything... these are just the imagination of a madman.
"Say it, 042."
Anthony's tone deliberately emphasized 042's name, continuing to force Lorenzo.
"I was..."
Lorenzo slowly raised his hand and covered half of his face with force. The memory that he had been unwilling to face, the forgotten and lost memory, was cruelly torn apart at this moment and revealed without reservation. .
"I was in the Seven Hills to deal with the remaining demons, and finally met up with Metanzo who broke out of the Stasis Temple..."
"But the demon hunters of Metanzo were all guarding outside the Cathedral of Saint-Naro at that time. After the outbreak of Holy Advent Night, they all guarded the gate of heaven with Metanzo to stop those demons. Why are you alone? Leaving the team?"
Anthony retells what happened, and Lorenzo's words fall into pieces in front of the true story.
"Split personality? Due to the pseudo-Holy Grail...or something else, 047's personality split into a personality named 042, and 042 killed 047."
Percival said suddenly, her voice always so light and so abrupt in this serious meeting.
"Percival!"
Gawain said seriously, trying to keep Percival quiet.
"It's not impossible. Due to erosion, there are many such cases in Montenegro Hospital..."
Percival wanted to continue saying something, but looking at Gawain's solemn eyes, he could only continue silently.
However, her proposal is indeed possible. From this conversation, it can be seen that Lorenzo did not seem to want to deceive everyone, but that he really had a cognitive error about his identity.
"Answer my question, 042, why is that?"
Anthony continued to pursue, and then asked Lorenzo another question before he could answer.
"So you said you killed Metanzo, but why did you use his Silver Bolt?"
Suddenly everything was quiet, Lorenzo looked at Anthony blankly, his eyes moving stiffly.
"You said...the Silver Bolt..."
"As a demon hunter, you should know the role of the Silver Bolt. It not only limits the power of you demon hunters. Through the Stasis Temple, when you break through the critical value, we can use it to determine your location. "
Speaking of this, Anthony observed Arthur's reaction from the corner of his eyes.
"But a few days ago, the Static Temple detected 047's reaction from the silver-binding bolt, and the location was in the northern part of Old Dunling... If you said you killed 047 yourself, then what's the matter with this reaction report?"
Not giving Lorenzo any room to counterattack, Anthony threw the final punch.
"You should know that the Silver Bolt cannot be removed."
The priest finished the last mass, and under the watchful eyes of the family members, the last handful of soil was covered on 042's coffin.
047 seemed to have lost the ability to speak, and stood there in despair. The beautiful dream broke, revealing the cruel reality.
"Medanzo, you have been corrupted by the false Holy Grail."
Anthony looked at the demon hunter who had been fighting for his whole life with pity.
"You have been trapped in this madness for so long that even this maddening nightmare has become normal to you."
(End of this chapter)