Embers of Embers

Chapter 338
924 in the Inlveg calendar.
The warm sunshine falls, the cool wind blows from the shade of the trees, and along with the rustling sound of the leaves, everything in front of you shows a rare beauty.
042 put away the waving sword blade and saluted the old man in front of him.
"How does your body feel? 042."
After a simple greeting, Lorenzo Medici asked about 042's current situation. The 042 in front of him was already considered an adult, but every time he saw his somewhat innocent face, Lorenzo Medici always asked. Will treat him like a young child.
In fact, it's almost the same. In front of his long years, most people are just children to him.
"fine……"
042 said and shook hands. He had heard what the priests had said. After receiving the [Baptism of God's Favor], 042 then implanted the silver-binding bolt and secret blood. Although the process was somewhat painful, fortunately 042 was alive. We settled down and became one of the lucky few.
"The secret blood and the silver bolt are both stable, and the power is under control..." 042 said with some confusion, "But I still can't use the power... I don't even know which faction I belong to. The Witcher."
"This is normal. After all, the alchemy matrix in your body is not perfect yet and you cannot stimulate power from the secret blood." The old man comforted.
"How much longer do I need?"
This answer 042 was not surprising. He had learned most of the knowledge about demon hunters before this.
That extraordinary authority originates from the secret blood in the body. Under the power of the engraved alchemical matrix, the power will be directed and guided out of the forbidden blood.
This process will have a great corrosive impact on the witcher itself. Coupled with the technical limitations of the alchemical matrix, each witcher can only obtain one power through directional guidance, and multiple powers cannot exist in the same witcher at the same time. Even if the alchemy matrix technology can solve it, the multiple erosions will instantly alienate the demon hunter into a terrifying monster.
"Today...this is a special day." The old man replied with a smile.
042 was slightly stunned. Since he was transferred from the Demon Hunting Order by the old man in front of him two years ago, everything about him has been taken care of by the old man in front of him. From training to secret blood implantation, 042 was treated like a doll. Playing around with it at will, he still doesn't know what faction he will become a demon hunter.
But after hearing the old man's answer, 042 was a little happy.The alchemical matrix in his body is not perfect. Only after those flaws are completed can he gain power and become a true demon hunter.
"But we still need some time, we need to wait for a while...Follow me 042, you don't need to train today."
The old man signaled to 042, then turned around and walked towards the depths of the mansion, while 042 followed him and was swallowed by the huge building.
This retirement residence is not as simple as it seems. After passing through the hidden secret passage, you will reach a huge underground space. In the past two years, 042 spent most of his time here, fighting with the captured monsters. combat, and training.
But today, there are many people in the usually empty and cold underground. They wear religious robes and wear slender sword blades around their waists. 042 remembers that weapon, they call it a nail sword, and it is the weapon of the demon hunter.
So, are these people witchers?
042 looked at those guys with some curiosity. Their faces were covered by hoods, hidden in the shadows, and they kept an eerie silence. If 042 could not hear their faint breathing, he would even think that they were a group of people. Standing dead man.
"they are……"
"Ignore them for now and follow me."
The old man said that under his leadership, 042 was taken to the deepest part of the underground. 042 remembered that there was where he had implanted the secret blood. But now that all the complicated instruments had been removed, he was alone. The next small table is matched with two chairs. A pocket watch is placed in the middle of the table, recording the time in the dark.
"Come and get some rest, we've got a long wait."
"Wait for what?"
"A lot..." the old man said mysteriously, "probably a group of unpleasant guests."
"guest?"
042 looked very confused. Although the old man had never revealed anything more to him, he had vaguely felt the difference in his life in the past few years. No guests had ever come here, and he felt a little uneasy.
"But we still have plenty of time, 042."
The old man smiled. For some reason, this usually very serious old man became particularly happy today, as if something wonderful was about to happen.
The attendant came from the side, pushing a small cart with exquisite desserts and fine wines on it, and placed it on the small table, as if it was afternoon tea, but this was a gloomy underground, with mysterious people standing around it. Demon hunters, 042 doesn’t feel right no matter how much I think about it.
"Try this, you may not believe it, I like sweets very much."
It seemed that this was really just an ordinary afternoon tea. The old man didn't care about etiquette, so he reached out and picked up a piece and tasted it.
"Are you surprised?" The old man asked, looking at 042 in a daze.
"Somewhat." 042 nodded.
Lorenzo Medici, the leader of the Golden Age, once dominated the entire Florence, and firmly controlled both the Evangelical Church and the Demon Hunting Order in his hands.
In the artist's description, he is a benevolent patron, in the eyes of his political opponents he is a terrible nightmare, in the eyes of ordinary believers and the public he is the incarnation of God in this world.
But now this guy is eating the dessert with a big mouthful, and the cream is all over his hands. He looks at 042, and it seems that the old man has become younger, and he bursts into joyful laughter.
"People are like this. They always make a lot of guesses about things they don't understand. Over time, they deify a person... In fact, I am just an ordinary person, and I have also been ravaged by time." The old man said.
"But... 042 do you have any preferences?"
"Like?"
"Well, preferences, even I like sweets, what should someone like you also like?" the old man asked.
"This...can I say it? I remember the Witcher..."
042 was a little hesitant. Before he was transferred by the old man, he was trained in the Demon Hunting Order for many years. Under the guidance of Dean Lawrence, the demon hunter should suppress his emotions as much as possible, become indifferent, and become a demon hunter. It becomes a weapon, and the weapon obviously does not have any preferences. The weapon only needs to execute the order.
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, your alchemy matrix has not been perfected yet. You are not yet a demon hunter. Let's talk about it." The old man's attitude became particularly different today. He was so friendly that 042 almost forgot who he was originally. Such a person.
"Stories, reading books and stories? Actually, I don't know exactly how to tell it. Anyway, I want to see the bigger world."
"A bigger world?"
"Yes, I have a few very good friends in the sect. We..." 042 suddenly fell silent. He realized that something was wrong and told each other about the content of [Baptism of God's Favor]. In the sect, is expressly prohibited.
"Have you learned about each other's [Baptism of God's Favor]?" The old man saw at a glance what 042 wanted to hide.
"Sorry! My lord!"
"It's okay, it's okay." Looking at 042's flustered look, the old man asked kindly.
"So what did you see?"
"Stories, bizarre stories one after another, the colorful world... is far more beautiful than the jadeite, and more grand than what we know about this world." 042 said in a daze.
"Since then, I have felt that my body and mind have been taken away by those unknown and beautiful worlds. I want to see those..."
"But such a situation does not exist in this world." The old man expressed regret.
"No, yes, sir." 042 denied his words.
"Inerweg, Old Dunling, 047 often told me this. He said that it was the most advanced city, where we have what we want. When he retires, he wants to go to Old Dunling and start a business. What kind of agency do you want to be a detective in?"
042 seemed to have let down his guard in this chat, talking about his future outward appearance.
"Sounds really good, but it's a pity that I'm not a demon hunter. I will never be able to see what you see in person." The old man was a little envious. It was rare that he would be envious of such a thing.
"I also had a friend when I was young. He was a demon hunter. This kind of thing sounds a little impossible, but it is the fact. For various reasons, we two people who were destined to have no intersection met each other like this." The old man suddenly said Something happened about himself.
"Has he shared his [Baptism of God's Favor] with you?" 042 asked.
"Absolutely, that's an interesting demon hunter. To be precise, apart from possessing secret blood and killing demons, he doesn't look like a demon hunter at all. On the surface, he is peaceful and content, but secretly he doesn't care about the doctrine. He said His greatest wish is to become an adventurer and travel to different countries and continents to find the things he saw in [Baptism of God’s Favor].”
The old man recalled what happened decades ago. All of this was too long ago. At that time, he was not a Medici Cardinal, but just like 042, a little kid who yearned for those strange scenes.
"This..." 042 looked a little strange.
"You also felt it. At that time, he didn't know my identity. That idiot thought that he and I were both demon hunters. When he later found out that I had a Medici surname, his expression was very interesting."
The old man said with joy, no one could have imagined that he had such a cheerful side.
"He said to me with a world-weary look on his face, 'Ah, I'm really sorry for violating the teachings. Should I be burned at the stake or beheaded? Considering our long-term friendship, can you please give me a break?' That's it.
From the point of view of the doctrine, this demon hunter has committed a heinous crime. He has violated almost all the regulations. He even burned the doctrine in front of me just because we ran out of firewood when we roasted the hare. He is really a big sinner... But instead of killing him, I helped him hide all this.
It was really a strange friendship. I am a descendant of the Medici family, shrouded in sacred faith. According to the route set by the family for me, I will become a cardinal when I grow up, and after my death I will be regarded as a saint and be buried in the Seven Hills. This is where I end my life of devotion to God.
But I met that fool with a bit of a brain problem. In his bad words and fantasies, I suddenly found that the shackles of faith on me were loose, and in the end I seemed to have become a heretic like him.
And this guy is really interesting. In order to describe to me more accurately what he saw [Baptism of the Gods], he later drew me a lot of paintings about [Baptism of the Gods]. "
As the old man spoke, he picked up the dessert and stuffed it into his mouth. His white beard was covered with cream and crumbs.
"But his painting skills were so bad, it was like covering a chicken with paint and letting it run around on the drawing board. I couldn't see clearly what he wanted to depict. Later he also realized this, He stopped painting and just chatted with me about what he saw."
The old man's voice gradually slowed down. 042 looked at the old man with downcast eyes and a young smile on his dry face.
It was almost unbelievable that 042 seemed to have gotten to know the old man again today. The old man who made everyone feel suffocated actually had such an ordinary past.
"He said that the world he saw was so beautiful, so beautiful that sometimes he was willing to devote his life to searching for that era, but then he died, just like the ending of many demon hunters."
The old man leaned back on the chair and looked at the dark rocks above his head, as if he wanted to see the beautiful sky through the obstacles.
"It was a beautiful era. The sky was dyed golden by the afterglow of the setting sun. There were no monsters or erosion. People were playing on the beach, and the cool sea caressed their ankles...
He called it a golden age and pursued it all his life, but he did not get a glimpse of that beauty until his death. "
"I think he is quite stupid. He gave everything for that illusory thing. Why don't you listen to my advice? If he is willing to stay in Feilengcui, I will let him spend his life in peace and find a good friend for him. Teacher, save his sad painting skills, but he is dead...
I thought it was nothing at the time, but then one day I suddenly felt very sad..."
The old man's face was expressionless, whether he was happy or sad, as if he was wearing a mask that no one knew about.
"That's when I realized that I, Lorenzo Medici, had lived so long and had only one friend, and my only friend was dead, killed by a demon."
"Do you want to avenge him? Kill all the monsters?" 042 asked.
"How could it be? Who wants to avenge that idiot? I am Lorenzo Medici. If I work hard, I might be able to become the Pope. Power, wealth, and women, which one is not more interesting than revenge? And for a person I don’t even know the names, just the numbered Witcher’s Revenge, which is ridiculous.”
The old man laughed, as if the so-called sadness just now was just a lie.
"But, one day I saw a painting, which was the painting he originally painted for me, depicting the golden age... Oh, but his painting was really bad. I stared at that painting. After waiting for a long time, I still couldn't figure out what he was painting.
But at that time, I suddenly figured out one thing. The so-called golden age does not exist in this world. No matter how the idiot pursues it, it is just illusion. "
Lorenzo Medici's cold face melted, like a ferocious beast, his dry skin wrinkled together, revealing a frightening smile.
"But... although the golden age does not really exist, it can be created."
"I already have everything a mortal can get. No matter how expensive the wine is, it is no different from plain water to me. Everything in the world has no meaning to me, except for the golden age that only exists in the mind of that fool. , and when that idiot died, the paintings he left behind were extremely ridiculous.”
Lorenzo Medici looked directly into 042's eyes. Hidden under his cloudy eyes was a bound soul. It was young and furious, but it was about to be led to death by this aging body.
"042, at that moment I seemed to have found the meaning of my life. I wanted to see what the golden age was like, and I wanted to know what that idiot wanted to draw for me."
The old voice was calm, but there was anger hidden in it. The blue blood vessels bulged under the shriveled skin. For a moment, the old man in front of him seemed to have turned into some kind of evil monster.
"I, Lorenzo Medici, will create a golden age."
Then an evil laugh sounded, and he said.
"But in that beautiful era, there was no place for demons."
(End of this chapter)