Embers of Embers

Chapter 348 Silence
Thick dark clouds gathered over the old Dunling. It was obviously daytime, but no light could penetrate the gloomy iron curtain, dragging the entire city and even the entire world into darkness.
The operation of the entire Old Dunling came to a standstill today. The galloping winds and the shrill heavy rain converged together. Amid lightning and thunder, Old Dunling ushered in this suffocating and depressing storm.
Under the violent storm, there were no traces of living people on the streets. Even the factories that worked around the clock chose to rest at this moment. The host's voice on the radio became intermittent, and he comforted the citizens with a few words. Let everyone enjoy this rare holiday.
Although the apocalyptic weather echoed over the city, people did not feel scared, but were very happy. On this unexpected holiday, people and their families sat by the fireplace in the living room, listening to the howling wind and enjoying With the warmth of family.
But not everyone can have this kind of warmth. There are figures walking hard in the heavy rain. The rain is getting heavier and heavier, like a deadly storm. The majestic rain curtain makes people feel like they are drowning. , in this difficult environment, the figure reached the shadow of a building with difficulty, temporarily avoiding the icy rain.
"It's terrible..."
Merlin panted heavily and slowly sat down against the wall. The once mysterious alchemist was completely soaked and looked completely miserable.
There were messy gunshots coming through the rain curtain, and there was the faint sound of monsters roaring. Under the heavy rain, the entire Montenegro Hospital was caught in the flames of war. The erosion interfered with the communication, and the rain curtain blocked the vision. Everything looks extremely bad now. No one knows what will happen next.
But at least Merlin was safe for now. As Arthur gave the order, he and Abigail evacuated in different ways to preserve as much strength as possible.
Although he made a guarantee to Arthur, Merlin's evacuation method was really not safe and efficient. After lifting Lorenzo out of the birdcage, the somewhat sick alchemist showed amazing strength. He directly carried Lorenzo and ran out of the scientific research area.
Maybe it was due to the heavy rain, or maybe it was because there were only two people with a small target. Merlin unexpectedly didn't encounter any demons along the way. He originally thought that he could use this opportunity to re-familiarize himself with the swordsmanship that he had not used for many years.
But all goes well. Judging from the fierce noise and the erosion that is still spreading, the battle situation this time will probably be extremely tragic. Coupled with the current weather environment and the impact of erosion, Merlin needs to leave the affected area as soon as possible and mobilize force.
Looking towards the heavy rain beyond the shadows, the whole world seemed to be dragged into the deep sea.
Black Mountain Hospital was too big, and the heavy rain obscured his vision. After running for so long, he was not sure how far he was from the boundary of Black Mountain Hospital, let alone carrying an overweight witcher with him.
Due to carrying the silver bolt in his body, Lorenzo's weight was much higher than that of an ordinary person. This made it very difficult for Merlin, a scientific researcher, to carry it, but it was nothing. Instead, it reminded him of his apprenticeship, when he could There was a lot of alchemy materials to carry around, and the scene at that time was very similar to now.
The teacher was holding a sword at the back and fighting with other alchemists, while he ran all the way carrying precious alchemy materials.
Merlin actually laughed as he thought about it. He never imagined that he would recall the past in this way, and it was quite interesting when he thought about it.
He was relaxing and resting as much as possible. Merlin was not yet safe right now. He wanted to take Lorenzo out of here as soon as possible. At this time, the other man who had fallen against the wall finally reacted a little.
Lorenzo slowly opened his eyes. Like Merlin, he was also soaked like a drowned rat. His pale golden hair was stuck to his face, as if he had just been fished out of the sea, and there was something about him. Judging from the confused and sad eyes, this guy should have jumped into the sea by himself.
"Merlin..."
Looking at the alchemist in front of him, Lorenzo looked confused. He remembered that he was in a birdcage at the time. As the machine started, he somehow fell into the memory palace.
He looked around, and couldn't figure out what happened, why he was here, and what was going on with the embarrassed alchemist in front of him.
Just as Lorenzo was about to say something, memories rushed through him like a torrent, disrupting his thoughts again. As the second door in the memory palace opened, Lorenzo recalled many things, those that he had forgotten for some reason. Things that make people feel scared and confused.
But before he had time to think about this, he felt an extreme coldness on his body and a tearing pain in his mind.
He looked in pain, but then Merlin injected him with Florund's potion. The potion spread in his body, relieving him a lot of pain and making him more awake.
"Merlin, I remembered, those monsters..."
After a brief absence, Lorenzo remembered the important information and was ready to share it with Merlin, but as soon as he said it, he did not dare to continue.
Whether it was Shermans or Lorenzo Medici, they both mentioned a similar concept, the concept called [border].
[Border] is like an exquisite and mysterious birdcage, existing in all human cognition. Once someone realizes the existence of [Border], or discovers information beyond the [Border], then they will attract strange silent people. .
And the so-called Silent One is the sealed [Holy Grail]. The blood and flesh of the Holy Grail are both derived from the strange existence of the Silent One.
Lorenzo was a little afraid to continue talking. The battle in his memory made people feel deeply frightened, but now that he thought about it carefully, it was all Lorenzo Medici's conspiracy. He was already preparing to die in the dry well. To fight against the Silent Ones, he mobilized Shang Da's demon hunters and deliberately told himself about the [Border], thereby attracting the Silent Ones.
Therefore, he could fill the entire dry well with the precious blood of the Holy Grail and complete the divine sublimation.
But the old man died in the end, just like a certain dark fate that had been destined for a long time. The Silent One would kill him by any means, even if he had made so many preparations and struggled hard to resist.
So... what about myself?
Lorenzo slowly lowered his head, his pale face reflected in the water.
The memory is not wrong, I am 042, I have always existed, but...but...why do they all call themselves 047?
Looking at that familiar face, Lorenzo couldn't help but laugh, but there was unspeakable fear and sadness in that laughter. He seemed to know the reason for all this, but he didn't dare to think about it anymore. I can only deliberately forget these and dare not face them.
"Lorenzo!"
Looking at the detective who was crying and laughing, Merlin suddenly shouted.
"Wake up! Lorenzo, listen to me carefully!"
Seeing Lorenzo wake up, Merlin didn't care what he just wanted to say, and prepared to tell what he had learned from his previous research.
"Merlin...by the way, what's going on?"
At this moment, Lorenzo recalled the strangeness of the current situation. At the same time, he also felt the erosion shrouded in his surroundings, which was terrifying, as if he was in the battlefield of some demon.
"Don't worry about that, listen to me carefully."
Merlin once again interrupted Lorenzo and forced him to look at him. Under those empty eyes, Lorenzo felt for the first time some emotions revealed on this strange body. He was extremely excited and... …fear.
"Do you remember that demon with fever?"
As if he was afraid that Lorenzo would forget, he added, "It was the demon that lost control in the Perpetual Pump. The high temperature destroyed almost everything in its path."
Hearing him say this, Lorenzo thought of that monster, that strange monster.
If Lorenzo remembers correctly, the demon was a man named Horner before it was alienated. He participated in the attack on Salicado's banquet and was subdued by Arthur. The Ever-Moving Pump wanted to kill him. Research, but during the research due to some unknown reasons, the demonization suddenly intensified, and then turned into that fiery evil ghost.
"Horner..."
Lorenzo whispered the name that he had almost forgotten, and he suddenly remembered the strange [gap].
If Lorenzo's mental state has some ups and downs, in addition to his resurrection in the Black Angel, when he killed Horner, it was also an extremely important node.
Lorenzo still remembers all that. At the end of the fight with the fiery evil spirit, Lorenzo seemed to have stepped into Horner's [gap] and killed him there, killing him on a spiritual level. He, and then the fiery evil spirit died, without breaking his heart or cutting off his head, he just died like that.
After that, Lorenzo's consciousness fell into a coma, and Horner's memory flashed back and forth in his mind. Fortunately, Lorenzo gradually forgot about it in the following time, and only remembered it when he mentioned it.
"what happened?"
Lorenzo asked, that incident happened a long time ago, and he was a little confused as to why Merlin was bringing it up now.
Merlin's voice was full of excitement, but his face remained dead calm.
"Don't you think many of the properties of that demon are... very similar?"
"like what?"
"Power Michael."
Blazing white fireworks were instantly released in Lorenzo's mind. Under the impact of the extreme high temperature and heat wave, he seemed to see that face again. Ed waved the flaming sword full of anger and launched a final attack on Lorenzo. attack.
Without giving Lorenzo time to think at all, Merlin continued, with an urgency he had never felt before. This rational alchemist was showing madness at this moment.
"Lorenzo, I have always had a strange sense of fear, as if I was studying something terrible. In order to prevent others from being affected by me, I studied it secretly for a long time.
You demon hunters will also have your own powers after being demonized, right? You will become a monster with powers. But Horner is different. He was originally just an ordinary person who lost control of his inferior secret blood and turned into a demon. It is said that he has not been guided by the alchemical matrix, nor has he experienced a sufficiently stable secret blood implantation, but his behavior when he finally lost control was so similar to Power Michael. "
Merlin continued speaking, eager to tell all the secrets hidden in his heart, as if he would die the next second, and these secrets would die with him.
"I suddenly remembered what you said to me before. According to the records in "Revelation", the power of the demon hunter is to guide the secret blood through the alchemical matrix, thereby obtaining the extraordinary power. When guiding, a single power It will cause erosion, and directing multiple powers at the same time will directly transform the target into a demon.
Witchers and monsters have the same origin, so does the same thing apply to power? "
Lorenzo was stunned, and for a moment, it seemed that another terrible secret was slowly revealed in front of his eyes, a direction that no one had ever thought of. The [boundary] has been restricting people's exploration of those secrets. Until someone accidentally broke through its shackles.
"Based on the collection of demon types that our purification agency has collected over the years, we can find that those strange demons are more or less similar to the powers of you demon hunters, such as the nightmare illusion that makes people fall into hallucinations, and the There are those stomachweeds that are growing like red lines... plus that demon that is burning out of control."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Lorenzo looked at Merlin, and he somewhat understood why Merlin told him this. The alchemist had discovered a terrible secret, but no one except Lorenzo seemed to be able to bear the cost of exploring this secret.
"[Gap], the [Gap] shuttle that Lawrence can do, what if this is also a kind of power?" Merlin asked.
"Gabriel..."
Facing Merlin's words, Lorenzo spoke softly. An extremely cold wind blew across their cheeks, as if a pair of cold invisible hands were touching them.
Merlin's body trembled slightly, he was a little confused, and then asked.
"What did you say? Lorenzo."
"[Gap] travel is a power called Gabriel." Lorenzo said.
"You...did you remember something?"
Lorenzo nodded stiffly, then he stretched out his hand and put it on Merlin's shoulder, warning Merlin.
"You are right, Merlin, knowledge is cursed. You have almost reached the [border], don't continue..."
He advised the alchemist in front of him, but immediately Lorenzo felt frightened by his words.
Yes, this is why everything about this secret has not been handed down. Those who knew were not only hunted by the silent ones, but they themselves also refused to pass on this knowledge, because it is a curse, you know The more people there are, the more people will die. In order to protect those who come after them, they have erased all knowledge related to the [Border].
So, are those who refuse to reveal secrets protecting us?
Lorenzo felt an unspeakable irony for a moment, but then Merlin spoke again.
"No, no, no, Lorenzo, hear me out!"
Merlin didn't know the so-called [boundary]. He stared at Lorenzo closely, suppressing his emotions and growling.
"If the power of a demon hunter can be manifested in a specific way in the body of a demon, it would be like the illusion of a bad situation, or the burning demon transformed by Horner.
So what about the so-called power Gabriel?
What kind of monster does this weird and terrifying power correspond to? "
Merlin discovered the [Border], and he vaguely felt the strange fear and oppression. He wanted to pass on this information many times, but he instinctively felt afraid, as if doing so would cause some kind of irreparable mistake. , he can only keep this backlog until he confides all this to Lorenzo.
Everything originated from the secret blood of sin, from which all evils in the world were born.
This is what Merlin wanted to say to Lorenzo, and Lorenzo also froze on the spot, and the only sound left in his ears was the roar of the storm.
His pupils were tightened, and his expression was complicated. He didn't know whether it was fear or joy. His hands were trembling slightly, and he whispered in a voice that Merlin couldn't hear.
"The silent one..."
All the insiders were killed, and the survivors were afraid of the curse of knowledge and refused to pass on this fatal information. Human beings have never truly understood the current situation of this world, and everyone is bound by invisible [borders] like domestic animals. , and those weird existences are like guards, guarding the [border].
Be silent and silence will remain.
(End of this chapter)