Embers of Embers

Chapter 284 Despair
047 is very clear about what happened. Tonight, the secret experiment about the Holy Grail is being carried out in the Stasis Temple deep underground. 047 is not clear about the more detailed parts, but from now on, it is obvious that the experiment is out of control, and the tide Such erosion is released from the Stasis Temple as its source.
The ultimate depression fell on every demon hunter's will in an instant, and that evil and cold twisting feeling was churning in the stomach. Some demon hunters couldn't bear it for a while, and they lifted the iron mask and leaned over to retching. .
They are demon hunters. After [Baptism of Divine Favor] and implantation of secret blood, they are the most resistant to erosion among humans. But even so, 047's mind was shaken violently at this moment.
The intensity of this erosion was far beyond his imagination. It seemed that as long as 047 was slightly absent-minded, his will would be completely swallowed up by the darkness. He took a deep breath to stay rational.
047 looked at the demon hunters behind him in a panic, and abnormal reactions appeared on them one by one. Under the cover of this erosion, they felt physical discomfort first, and then mentally.
This is erosion, like a black tide overflowing the dam of reason, searching for the fragile cracks, infiltrating them, and widening the cracks until it destroys the bottom line of reason.
This is true for these experienced demon hunters. 047 can no longer imagine the people in the stasis temple. Not all demon hunters are there, but there are many ordinary people. They may be at the moment when the erosion breaks out. He was turned into a demon.
Soon 047's worries were answered, bursts of roars came from the glorious church, and their shadows were reflected by the sea-like candlelight, like demon gods in mythology, walking out of that sacred place.
This is so similar to everything described in the Gospels. The evil demons crawl out from the shadows under God's feet and attack the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit.
The reason why Qiqiu was so tightly protected was nothing at this moment. This time the enemy came from within them, at their core.
The night wind became thicker and smelled of blood.
They are still wearing holy robes, but under the pure white are twisted and mutated bodies. Their pale arms are covered with iron-blue blood vessels. The once-familiar faces have completely withered and shrunk, and their eye sockets are deeply sunken. Like dark whirlpools, they made whimpering sounds, as if they were singing some weird melody, and then blood flowed down the gaps in the corners of their mouths.
Demonized priests gathered in groups. They smelled the fear of the living, so they walked out of the glorious hall, looking down at the sword-wielding demon hunters.
What a hateful scene it was. Even 047's iron will hesitated for a moment. Judging from the degree of demonization by the priests, the intensity of this erosion was simply lethal, and it only lasted a few minutes from the outbreak to now. It’s just time.
047 It’s hard to imagine what the stasis temple under your feet will look like now.
The rest of the witchers were also aware of this. They were terrified, and their sword hands trembled slightly.
Without waiting for them to react, the next moment the demons roared forward and swooped down. They were hungry for blood and flesh, and their whimpering roars contained the pain of their souls. They cried and howled.
The witchers froze on the spot, like small animals being watched by predators. Their armor could not stop shaking. They were aware of the crisis, but they could not lift their swords for a long time.
Although those demons are powerful, they still have the power to fight with the cooperation of the demon hunters. But what is more serious now is the ubiquitous erosion. The weird sticky feeling is like soaking oneself in the liquid that is about to solidify. In the blood pool, the smelly liquid poured into the iron armor along the gaps in the armor, torturing the demon hunter's mind.
At this moment, they not only have to fight against the demon in front of them, but also the erosion that is pressing on their chests. If they are not careful, the demon hunter will be eroded, lose control, and become a member of the demon.
The demons roared, and their sharp claws and teeth pierced the holy robes. They came, carrying the message of death.
051 has completely lost his will to fight. He can only feel the chill all over his body, as if a cold steel needle has penetrated his joints and cut off all the muscles. It has exhausted him to stay rational in this fatal sense of despair. With all his strength, he couldn't lift the blade, so he could only watch the arrival of the demons until a beam of cold light exploded in front of his eyes.
"Don't let fear rule you, witchers."
someone yelled in despair.
The dark and dense armor grew wildly along the gaps in the iron armor, and blazing fireworks overflowed from it. 047 lived up to Metanzo's name. He held a sharp nail sword and stood at the forefront of death to face the demon.
He has always been very powerful. Before he became a demon hunter, he was the most skilled swordsman among all the children.
047 stabbed quickly, piercing through the demon's heart like thunder, and then stepped forward, his whole body overlapped with the demon, and like a dance, the nail sword easily cut through the twisted flesh, and the place where the sword blade and flesh intersected emitted a sound. Feeling a burning sensation, he cut off the head directly, and then the blazing white flames completely engulfed the demon.
It was such a sharp blow, clean and neat. The headless body stumbled forward a few steps, and finally fell down. It burned and rolled, and landed at the bottom of the stairs, burning quietly. A gentle ash remains.
Under the steel mask, a fire ignited in the dark abyss. 047 glanced at the demon hunters relentlessly, as if inspired by 0471's bravery. Some demon hunters struggled to get out of the despair, tremblingly lifted Picking up their swords, although they were afraid, at least at this moment they clenched the weapons in their hands.
"The time has come to do our duty and we cannot let these monsters go."
047's voice was cold as he spoke.
Saint-Naro Cathedral is the core area of ​​pollution. Under the strange power of the Holy Grail, the people here will be twisted into more powerful demons.
Feeling the erosion of madness, the endless whispers filled his ears. It was impossible to completely ignore it. 047 could only endure it, like a sailor facing the storm. He tightened the sail, unwilling to be That wave of death struck down.
The wave of erosion continues, and it is only a matter of time before the Seven Hills fall. But beyond the Seven Hills is Feileng Cui, and the demons must be contained in this city.
Invisible monsters roared, they bared their teeth and claws, and the sharp sound of despair beat on the hearts of every demon hunter like a drum.
The battle began, and more demons poured out of the Saint-Naro Cathedral. They were basically priests working in the church. Some demons still retained their remaining humanity, and their blank wills recited the words in vain. Holy prayers, and then beheaded with a sharp nailed sword.
047 fought at the forefront, his anger drove the others, slightly dispelled the cold chill, and slashed vigorously until the nailed sword was covered with gaps, and the blood of the demon soaked the sacred ladder, like a stream, It flowed all the way to the bottom, mixed with the burned corpse, like the filth of sin.
The iron armor was already scarred. Although with the help of the powerful, the damaged parts were quickly covered with new armor, but in this corrosive environment, carrying out such a high-intensity battle was also an extreme situation for the demon hunters. A big burden.
The previous anger began to sway and extinguish in the roar of the demon, and the invisible fear once again captured the demon hunters, leaving them puzzled and in pain.
The battle has started a long time ago, but it is as if this place has been forgotten. There are no reinforcements, no orders, only the demon hunters of Medanzo, who stand here alone, fighting against the demons from hell.
During this period, 047 remained silent. He just killed the enemy mechanically. In fact, he was very tired. Several demons had just surrounded him. Although his swordsmanship was superb, the nail sword had become dull in the long battle. , It was difficult for him to cut off the monster's head with one blow. Although it was protected by the iron armor, under the heavy blows, the body under the iron armor was bruised.
The face under the mask smiled tiredly, looking at the demons coming slowly under the brilliant candlelight. Only then did 047 realize that there were so many priests in this seemingly deserted church.
But the long night seemed to be about to usher in the dawn, which seemed to be the last demon. 047 had just glimpsed a little hope, but then a scream dragged him into the abyss again.
It was a scream from behind. A demon hunter was holding a nailed sword, his figure was swaying, and he slowly knelt down. Next to him was another injured demon hunter, who stabbed with his sword. The unsuspecting comrades let out bursts of weird laughter.
047's heart sank, as expected, the worst situation happened.
Demon hunters have always tried their best to avoid fighting in high-intensity corrosive environments. The ubiquitous power will gradually distort people's will. Compared with normal humans, demon hunters are only more tolerant than them, not completely. The immunity of the demon hunter is eroded, and once the demon hunter is eroded and out of control, it is a far more dangerous existence than ordinary people.
Mystic blood gives demon hunters the power to fight against monsters. Similarly, it will be the most dangerous poison when they are depraved.
047 made a judgment immediately, turned around and rushed downwards.
"Hold here!"
He shouted at the other witchers, then jumped up with his nail sword in hand.
The eroded demon hunter looked very painful, his will was far less fragile than that of ordinary people, and there was still some clarity in his desperate cries.
Therefore, he laughed wildly, but his expression was pitiful and crying, as if he was saying sorry to the demon hunter he had injured, but he could no longer control his body, and the secret blood that had lost its restraint began to rise.
Without the control of will, the secret blood kept awakening in the demon hunter's body. In a blink of an eye, he broke through the shackles of the human form. The deformed and proliferated flesh made him look like a monster. At this time, the awakened secret blood triggered The silver-binding bolt is covered with cracks under the dark armor, and there is a gilded light in the center of the cracks.
That was the melting bolt of silver. The deadly holy silver flowed through his body along with the rising secret blood, destroying and being regenerated at the same time.
047 has an expressionless face. Although the Silver Bolt has been triggered, the demonized demon hunter still has some time to act before the Holy Silver completely kills him. 047 must solve it quickly.
Without the slightest hesitation, 047 waved his nail sword towards his comrades who were fighting side by side just now. The abominable demon struck back. Perhaps due to the fatigue of the battle, 047's movements slowed down a little, and then he was hit by the nail that was galloping towards him. Blocked by the sword, the huge force knocked him back several meters.
The roaring wind came, and the demon attacked again. It had secret blood in its body, and the blazing white fireworks were still burning. The demon transformed by the demon hunter was far more dangerous and deadly than ordinary demons, let alone still alive. Bear this terrifying erosion... This erosion comes directly from the Holy Grail.
047 tried to avoid it, but at this moment, unbearable pain came from his body, and blood gushed out from under the cold iron surface.
The coldness of death pierced into his mind like a sharp knife. It was too late to avoid the attack at this moment. He would be knocked down, injured, maybe killed by the demon, or he might be corroded and captured when his consciousness was unclear, and become a member of the demon. .
047 thought a lot in a flash, but the most regretful thing is that he was not able to see the appearance of Old Dunling, and he was not able to open a detective agency and live his life like an ordinary person.
But the death blow never came. The nail sword hung above his head and never dropped. He raised his head and saw a face distorted by crying.
Maybe this is the stubbornness of mortals. Even in his current state, he still wants to die as a human being. The demon hunter seems to want to say something, but now he can only make meaningless whimpering.
047 looked at the changing mouth shape, as if he had read his words. He stood up and took the nail sword. The two swords struck and flashed, and the ferocious and twisted face seemed to have been relieved, becoming peaceful and burning. His head fell heavily to the ground, and then the silver bolt was completely melted. The demon hunter's body knelt on the ground, and shining silver flowed out of his chest.
With the death of the demon hunter, the last demon was also beheaded. Scarlet blood overflowed from the glorious church like a red carpet, spreading over the stairs and over every demon hunter.
047 turned around and saw only the tired demon hunters. They pulled the nail sword out of another demon hunter's body and then watched their death.
A moment of suffocation captured 047. More than one demon hunter lost control. In the previous battle, the other demon hunters also eliminated those colleagues who lost control.
But tonight is still going on, and the terrifying erosion is still spreading. There are constant wailing sounds in the Seven Hills. More and more people are transformed into monsters, and the demon hunters will soon become theirs. One member.
047 suddenly felt an unspeakable feeling of powerlessness. Even if he was the invincible Metazord, he could not save this desperate situation at this moment... The erosion expanded the dark side of his psychology, and he could not even save himself at this moment.
How about... escape?
The place of Qiqiu has fallen. There are monsters everywhere. No one will notice you. Go and escape.
Escape from here, escape from Feilengcui, escape from the Holy Gospel Papal State.
There seemed to be an invisible monster wrapped around 047's body, whispering softly into his ear.
【Escape! 】
[Escape to Old Dunling and start the long-awaited new life. 】
[Staying here is just waiting to die. 】
"Medanzo!"
Suddenly there was a sound, interrupting 047's thoughts. He hesitated at first, and then became extremely frightened.
He was so scared that he couldn't imagine what would happen if he just agreed to the voice in his head. 047 turned his head and saw the blood-stained iron surface.
051 said to him.
"Retreat, 047, we are just waiting to die here."
"retreat……"
Yes, this is retreat, not escape. 051 is right, here we are just waiting to die.
But...but...
047's thoughts fell into chaos, and his hands couldn't help but tremble. He was very afraid. It seemed that if he agreed to this decision, some irreparable mistake would be made, a mistake that would be regretted for a lifetime.
Suddenly a deep sound came from the church above the stairs, all this was so clear in the ears of the witchers, it seemed that there were countless monsters, they were grinding their teeth, sucking blood, panting excitedly because of their thirst for blood , scratching the solid wall with sharp claws, crawling out of the dark abyss little by little.
From behind the gates of the kingdom of heaven.
The huge despair swallowed up 047 and all the demon hunters. This was the darkest moment of the night, with no moonlight and no hope.
(End of this chapter)