Embers of Embers

Chapter 309 Raphael
The same story has different appearances in different populations.
Everyone thought that the previous pope was dead...or in the story told by the new pope, he was dead, but in fact he was not dead, but was secretly imprisoned by the new pope in this filthy and forgotten place. No one would Knowing he was here, even if someone knew there was no ability to come here and save him.
Because this is not an area that mortals can reach, this is a hell that exists in the mortal world.
The refining of the secret blood is based on demons. The powerful blood is sublimated, and the useless flesh and blood is thrown into the well of sublimation. There are countless demon corpses stored here. Some of them are not even dead yet, relying on the same dropped flesh and blood. The body lives for food, and this has been going on for nearly a thousand years.
Therefore, too much madness and weirdness has accumulated here. As the depth of the deep well descends, the intensity of erosion also increases. At the bottom of the deepest well, only demon hunters can stay rational and reach here. Mortals are stepping into On the way to the deep well, alienation and madness will occur.
The new pope was satisfied with his method. It was a perfect prison for punishing those he hated.
Hundreds of meters deep from the ground, the air is filled with the stench of fishy smell, surrounded by darkness that cannot be illuminated. The "filth" of the Evangelical Church for nearly a thousand years has accumulated here. The old pope has survived in such darkness to this day. It's hard to imagine how he spent this crazy night.
"I have no idea……"
The old pope was like a fool, and he kept uttering these repeated words in his dry throat, but this was not a satisfactory answer.
It was difficult to detect any expression on the ferocious face of the new pope. He lowered his head and looked at the confused old pope, and slowly let go of him.
"Why? Why don't you want to say anything?"
He was confused and puzzled.
"Obviously as long as you had said it at that time, you might be on a luxurious soft bed now, holding a woman and drinking fine wine... I promised you, as long as you are willing to tell all that, I will ensure that you live in peace and sound Live the rest of your life.”
The voice became angry, and the nail sword was pulled out and stabbed, repeatedly piercing the old pope's body. The tattered body was cut repeatedly. The wounds were hideous and terrifying, but no blood flowed out, and the damaged body It also healed in a very short time.
The old pope seemed to have become numb to the pain. He felt nothing and just kept saying "I don't know."
The cruel atrocities of the new pope ended quickly. He also knew that this kind of pain was nothing to the old pope, but if he thought about it carefully, the new pope had no new ways to torture him.
The old pope was also a noble believer. He also hated the power of the secret blood, but the funny thing is that he still needed this power, so the new pope also gave him this demonic power, injected him with the secret blood, and watched The tortured look on him threw him into this hell again.
The believers in the kingdom of heaven are now covered with filth, and their wings have become heavy, like rocks that cannot be waved.
"kill me!"
The old pope suddenly showed a crazy look, and his mood changed drastically. In this dark torture, he had already fallen into madness.
The stiff arms scratched the new pope's robes feebly. The old pope even cried bitterly. He sobbed and prayed for death. For him, death was the only relief at this moment. For this reason, the old pope even cried bitterly. The proud head also lowered, hitting the ground repeatedly.
"Please, kill me."
He said, but the new pope had no intention and just stared at this ridiculous scene coldly.
"How could it be? Why do you want to die? Your Majesty, isn't this what you have always longed for?"
The new pope knelt down half-kneeling. He stretched out his hand and gently held up the abominable head, his eyes gentle.
Those were not eyes that made people feel relaxed. To the old pope, they were the eyes of a devil, with ridicule and sarcasm in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, I started reading the Gospels after I became the Pope. I never cared about this stuff before and thought it was just nonsense from a bunch of idiots. But now it seems that I have discovered that the truth lies there."
The chilling aura before disappeared, just like an ordinary conversation between friends, but the more peaceful it was, the more frightening it was.
"Yes, demons breed in the shadow of God. In fact... they are symbiotic with each other. It is precisely because of the abomination of demons that God's greatness is reflected, isn't it? But in the same way, it is not precisely because of God that Will there be demons?"
The new pope said, gently stroking the skull-like face with his fingers, and tiny fireworks rose from his fingers, leaving tear-like burn scars on the old pope's already scarred face.
"We have captured the source of the demons, the so-called 'Holy Grail'. It is clear that as long as we kill it, it will be over, but why? Why do you condone their struggle, and why did you get involved in the end? ?”
His voice became angry, and the old pope let out a scream. In the burning pain, his fingers slowly sunk under his head, leaving a bloody dent.
"Yes, demons breed in the shadow of God. It is not surprising that the center of faith, the core of the sacred church, is controlled by desire, right?"
It is because of these so-called saints that they have come to this situation.
"Please, kill me."
The old pope cried, scarlet blood gushing from the hollows in his eyes.
"Why? You obviously want eternal life so much that you are not even willing to kill the Holy Grail for this. You hate demon hunters, but you also long for the same long life... Everything has a price."
The new pope gritted his teeth.
Human desires have plunged mankind into despair. The pursuit of power, the pursuit of wealth, and the pursuit of eternal life. It is precisely because of these intertwined desires that finally triggered the tragedy of the Night of Holy Advent.
"I was wrong, kill me..." he begged.
"No, no, no, it's too late. Your Majesty, you have gained eternal life. You can no longer die."
The new pope said cruelly, piercing the nail sword into the old pope's body again and pulling hard.
"How can people survive in such an environment? How can they endure this pain and not die?"
"The most cruel thing to humiliate a saint is to turn him into the thing you hate the most." The new pope said, bringing his head close to his ear and whispering.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, you have become a monster."
The old pope's movements were sluggish. It slowly covered its eyes and its body trembled violently. It was unclear whether it was crying or laughing.
The new pope stood up and raised the lantern. The light illuminated the things behind the old pope. It was an endless expanse of flesh and blood. It arched high like a hill, and there were countless bodies on top of the hill. Most of them are dead, and a few have lost consciousness and turned into living corpses.
This hill of flesh and blood was combined with the ground, and flesh and blood filled the entire bottom of the well.
[Messia]-level containment object, a demon named Leviathan.
The new pope is standing on the body of the largest demon in history. It was born from the filth that fell into the bottom of the well. It has grown continuously in the past thousand years and occupied the entire underground.
No one knows its specific form, and it is growing slowly to this day. It is a combination of all sins. Fortunately, it has no self-awareness. Unlike the bloodthirsty madness of ordinary monsters, it does not even have biological instincts. , just exist here quietly.
Leviathan is not its specific name, but the name for all large monsters in the Evangelical Church. However, there are very few records of the appearance of such monsters in history.
"It feels good to live forever. It has lived for a thousand years, and if nothing happens, you will live with it until the next thousand years."
The new pope looked at the old pope. Under the light, he could see that its lower body had long been fused with flesh and blood. The bottom of the well was like a huge digestive tract, swallowing up the abandoned filth.
The old pope was speechless, but then the new pope put a cigarette into its mouth and lit it.
"Hurry and enjoy it. After all, no one will know that you are here after I die. In the long remaining life of your life, you will rarely have the opportunity to smoke cigarettes."
The old pope was silent, as unmoved as a stone statue.
The new pope didn't care either. He looked at the flesh and blood extending to the end of the darkness and felt a palpitation in his heart.
"But don't worry, we will all be in awe of you, after all you have become a part of it," he said.
"The feeling of power is really good. When you stand at the top of the world, you also know those more taboo things. This is something I never dared to think about before. Who would know that this is the real Stasis Saint? Where is the palace? Or the network of the heart."
The new pope stepped hard on the flesh and blood under his feet. The Leviathan demon under his feet was the source of everything. The [gap] that connected all the demon hunters was it. Such a huge and ancient body could also accommodate countless consciousnesses. Clearance】.
He didn't know how the Evangelical Church did this, but they called this communication system the Heart Network, and they issued instructions directly through the [Gap] with the Silver Bolt.
"How...how do you know this..." The old pope slowly raised his head, "I obviously destroyed all that knowledge."
"But there's always something missing, isn't there?"
The new pope lit another cigarette for himself, and the firelight once again illuminated his ferocious face.
"The Evangelical Church is really weird... Even if I become the Pope and know so many secrets, I still feel a deep sense of powerlessness when facing these things."
The old pope was silent while he continued.
"Lorenzo Medici, I am just here to inquire about his secrets this time. According to what I have gathered, his control over the Evangelical Church became less and less in his later years, until he had to live in seclusion, and then After you took office, you did not relax your vigilance against him and continued to play games with him secretly."
"What is the Scabbard Treaty?"
The new pope asked suddenly, and the withered figure seemed not to hear it, and it continued to be silent.
"It doesn't matter if you don't want to say it. In fact, I have a pretty good guess..."
The new pope observed the old pope's reaction from the corner of his eye, and he continued.
"Lorenzo Medici, his excessive pursuit of power, not only controlled the Evangelical Church but also the Demon Hunting Order, but he was indeed an excellent man and a born monarch. Under his leadership, we ushered in In the golden age, this time is comparable to our glorious Eastern Expedition a hundred years ago.
He is very similar to you, but there are some differences. You are afraid of death and are nostalgic for this world of desires, but he is not willing to die for the sake of that beautiful golden age. "
The new pope grabbed the withered head and stared at the empty space under the darkness.
"Lorenzo Medici is still alive, right?"
After a long time, the old pope's lips curved into what looked like a smile.
"He died. He died on the night of Holy Advent. His body was buried in the Seven Hills, buried with the saints of all ages. Don't you know very well?"
"Oh, really?"
The new pope also laughed. He looked at the old pope playfully and continued.
"Your Majesty, you are an excellent secret keeper. No matter how I tortured you or even threw you here, you never gave me any answers and refused to tell me those secrets... You pretended to be very good at that time. , But things are different now, Your Majesty, your pitiful appearance is really ridiculous in disguise..."
The new pope saw through its lies at a glance, he continued.
"He survived, and you know this, right? Maybe you don't know the specific situation, but you know that he will not die easily... You and he were once rivals, but now you are covering up for him, It's because this involves you too, right? And the thing that allows you to lie to me must have something to do with the 'truth'."
The old pope's voice was trembling, "No...it's not..."
"Actually, I already know, at least partially, that Lorenzo Medici is still alive, and he has also obtained 'immortal life', but he achieved it by occupying other people's bodies, right?
Gabriel...is that what you call this power? "
The old pope had completely froze. After living in this hopeless place for so many years, it thought it would no longer feel the so-called fear, but now the strange feeling came back and strangled it by the throat.
"Do not……"
"Let me think about it, this so-called "Scabbard Treaty" is related to the power of Gabriel. Lorenzo Medici obtained it at the end of his life and used the power of this power to occupy the bodies of others. Pulled down, and his body died on the Night of Advent.”
"Impossible! That power has been sealed! And Lorenzo Medici is so old, he can't bear the secret blood at all..."
The old pope roared, but his voice immediately dropped. It looked at the devilish face and couldn't believe it.
"You lied to me……"
"Yes, this long torture has indeed worked. At least your mind is no longer as sharp as before."
The new pope's eyes were pitiful. The once powerful pope also became crazy during the long torture at the bottom of the well, and became far worse than before.
"Those materials have been burned on the night of Advent. Even if I become the Pope, I can only get some fragments. But you also know that I am very smart. If I am not smart, I will not be the Pope, so I The story was pieced together based on that information...
In fact, I know you won't tell me. I'm here just to let you confirm the authenticity of my story. It seems to be true. Lorenzo Medici is still alive. "
The new pope spoke slowly. The more he told the story, the more so-called madness appeared on the old pope's face.
"Actually, what surprises me the most is that you actually covered up for him. You don't want me to know this, so... Quan Gabriel is related to the 'truth', right?"
These words completely detonated the old pope. It scratched and bit the new pope like crazy, but its attack was so weak and in vain. It whined and cried, and finally stopped, its voice full of pain. .
"Why, why are you so obsessed with the 'truth'?" The old pope didn't understand.
"I didn't care about this before. I was very open-minded. Demon hunting was just a job. But the Night of Holy Advent changed everything. Many people died. People I knew well, people I liked, and people I loved Even I lost half my life that night..."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but touch his ferocious face, and then showed a twisted smile.
"Since then, I have been thinking about what I am fighting for. I say it is to protect human beings' sanity, but we don't even know who the enemy is. Yes, what on earth are monsters? What are they? Why do they appear in this world? If they are the shadows of gods, then where are the so-called gods?
What exactly is a demon?
What is going on in this world? "
The new pope's voice was calm, but there was unquenchable anger in the calm.
"Everyone died so easily, but we don't know what we died for. It's ridiculous..."
The old pope stopped crying, and in a trance, the so-called reason returned to this body after a long absence. At the bottom of this well of despair, it was briefly awake.
"But that's not a good 'truth'. You won't like it. It will only create a bigger mistake."
"I do not care."
"You will die."
The new pope seemed to remember something for a moment, and he asked.
"Do you know Jiu Xia?"
"That country in the Far East?"
"Yes, there is a saying there."
"what?"
"If you ask in the morning, you will die in the evening."
The new pope threw down his cigarette case, which still contained a few cigarettes. They were not expensive items, but they were like treasures in this place of despair.
"Save it, maybe the next time I come will be decades later? After all, we demon hunters can still live for a long time."
As he spoke, he turned around and left. The lantern illuminated the road ahead, and the flowing blood continued to extend forward, like a scarlet ocean.
The old pope grabbed the cigarette case in a dull manner. It looked at the slowly leaving figure and suddenly felt great fear. The light kept leaving, and the darkness dragged it back bit by bit. It became crazy again, wailing. with.
"Come back! Please come back!"
It's too dark and lonely here.
"Please! Kill me!"
Such eternal life is too painful for the old pope, but it cannot die. It is connected to this huge flesh and blood. It will be thirsty and hungry, but it will never die.
The new pope ignored it, just grabbed the chain by which it came, and followed it back to the entrance.
The light spot became smaller and smaller, until it almost disappeared from the field of vision. The old pope collapsed. It endured endless darkness and finally saw the light, but at this moment the light was leaving, and it cursed fiercely.
"Do you think giving yourself a human name will make you human? You are a monster like me! A complete monster!"
In the deep darkness, the vicious voice echoed.
"You will die here with me eventually! Raphael!"
Raphael stopped. He turned his head but couldn't see the old pope anymore, only a slowly creeping darkness.
The lantern illuminated his surroundings. There were countless corpses, one after another. They were also thrown from the Well of Sublimation. During this long time, the corpses piled up like a hill.
"Of course, of course I will die here..."
Raphael said softly, looking at the dead with a pitiful expression... Those are not ordinary people, they are demon hunters. All these corpses are demon hunters, and this is the final destination of all demon hunters. .
They came from the well of sublimation and will end up in the well of sublimation.
(End of this chapter)