Embers of Embers

Chapter 449 Lawrence
This is a story that has been buried in dust.
Lorenzo was in a desolate wilderness, where wildfires were burning feebly, the wind carried dust across the ancient nailed sword, the corpse had long been rotting, and even the setting sun on the horizon was a dying blood red.
I don't know if it was an hallucination or some other factor that interfered with him, but a fierce roar sounded in Lorenzo's ears. The metals were rubbing against each other, and the flesh and blood were torn apart inch by inch, making a fine and shattering sound.
The demon hunters are fighting in the wilderness. They are very powerful, and their secret blood is constantly burning, releasing the forbidden beasts from the cage in their hearts.
Transformed into monsters, but even so, they still cannot resist the most primitive malice and despicability.
The blood gurgled out, and finally gathered into a stream, soaking the dry earth...
"Lorenzo Medici was so naive. He naively thought that everyone was looking forward to the arrival of the golden age. But as everyone knew, everyone was more concerned about current power and interests... The most ridiculous thing is that at that time, I As innocent as him."
Lawrence took a deep breath. Perhaps it had been too long since he had recalled these things, and his memory had become blurry.
"Ideals are still too naive. Only things that are practical, visible and tangible are worth people being crazy about."
"What... happened here?"
Lorenzo asked in a low voice, perhaps because of the [gap], his emotions began to be infected by Lawrence. Huge despair and anger filled his heart. For a while, he could not even hold the sword and lost it. Power fights Lawrence.
"How long ago it happened, I can't remember. In short, it was a long time ago that Lorenzo Medici's power became more and more powerful. He secretly controlled the Pope, and supported me to become the Patriarch and Cardinal. A member of Qing Dynasty.
The entire evangelical church is completely under his control, and the divine power and power are on his side. We all think that everything will develop in the best direction. Nothing can stop us. Whatever we want to do, we can do it. What to do, what to do.
The golden age is near. "
Lawrence found a raised position above the wilderness and sat down, with the nailed sword across his thigh, just like after a battle, enjoying this rare peace.
Lorenzo's eyes became serious. It was difficult for him to describe the complexity of his mood now. For a moment, the raging desire for revenge actually weakened. Lorenzo just wanted to know what happened at that time.
"It was a wonderful time, but unfortunately, we still did not recognize the nature of human beings... I think you also know the story later, right? The cardinals began to resist, they secretly gathered strength, and the Evangelical Church ostensibly arrived It appears to be strong, but in fact there is an undercurrent surging underneath.”
Lawrence looked at the wilderness and murmured.
"This is what happened during that time, Lorenzo Medici finally lost, he gave in, he realized that he was too old, and if he had been a few decades younger, he would have risked If there is a possibility of a schism in the church, he will kill all those who oppose him.
But he is too old, his body is no longer strong, and even his consciousness has become cloudy. He may be able to save himself, but this does not include me. "
"That's when my differences with him arose."
Lawrence raised his hand and rubbed his head vigorously. Probably because he traveled through the [Gap] too many times, his memory was also cloudy. Many times he could always see strange phantoms, which messed up his memory.
"I said leave everything to me. If you are too old and can't lift the sword, then let me liquidate those enemies and kill them all, leaving no one alive. By then, there will be only There was a voice, that of Lorenzo Medici.
I control the Demon Hunting Order, which is rooted under the Cathedral of Saint-Naro. As long as he gives an order, I can control the Cathedral of Saint-Naro, and even the entire Seven Hills. The Knights Templar are very powerful. They were outnumbered, but by the time they reacted, it was too late. "
Lawrence's expression gradually became ferocious. He was immersed in the expected killing and reveled in his revenge.
"I will burn these heretics without exception."
"and then?"
Lorenzo asked, looking over the steep slope at Lawrence, who was completely absorbed in the story being told.
"Then? Then Lorenzo Medici gave up. He compromised. Maybe he didn't want the Evangelical Church to split, or something else. He chose to live in seclusion. But I also know what happened later. The Silent One and the Holy One. Coffin, the night of Holy Advent..."
Lawrence laughed, but the laughter did not last long, and he became lonely again.
"As expected of him, I thought he compromised, but that was not the case. He chose to take revenge in another way... But it was still too late, Lorenzo Medici, it was too late for his revenge. , otherwise I wouldn’t have embarked on this broken path.”
His eyes fell on Lorenzo. Just like Lawrence said, they were the same kind. Lorenzo didn't have too deep feelings, but this was different for Lawrence.
"In the final analysis, a demon hunter is a weapon. A weapon cannot have its own will or power beyond its owner. Unfortunately, I have taken both of these two points. After Lorenzo Medici's compromise, I have no shelter. , He also told me that he would let me go with him, but I refused, because I didn't want all my efforts to just go to waste.
I went to lobby other cardinals, and I told them about the beauty of the Golden Age. Maybe Lorenzo Medici was too strong, but I would make a compromise, as long as they were willing to believe me and support me.
I am willing to give up everything, as long as someone can help me, we are just a little bit away from all the wonderful things, just a little bit away. As long as we work harder, maybe we can really succeed?
…I’m still too naive, Lorenzo Holmes. "
The chill of winter filled the air from Lawrence's words, and enveloped Lorenzo in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, Lorenzo can do nothing. He swings his sword, fights, and shouts. All he can think of now is to stand here and listen to Lawrence's past. The dark and unknown doubts are about to be completely cleared, and Lorenzo will see him being killed. Hidden secrets.
"Yes, it's right here, in the wilderness outside Feilengcui many years ago, an inaccessible wilderness."
Lawrence stood up slowly, and walked towards Lorenzo as he spoke, his eyes wandering along the way, lingering among the corpses of the witchers.
"I was deceived by them. How could they believe me? I was with Lorenzo Medici, I was a demon hunter, the Patriarch of the Order of Demon Hunters, and a Cardinal. I was too threatening to them.
I came here with full expectations. I thought what was waiting for me was another march to the golden age, but what I faced was countless Templar knights, my apprentices, and my subordinates. They all died here. "
The ground was trembling, and Lorenzo slowly backed away. He saw the ground beneath Lawrence's feet cracked, and countless withered and rotten arms protruded from it. One after another, the hideous dead emerged from the lava hell. Climb out.
"They are afraid of me and will not believe me. There are hundreds of Templar Knights, carrying Borgia's poison and holy silver weapons. As you said, I can't see that There will be heavy rains in the distant future."
One skeletal palm after another grabbed Lawrence, and the dead hung on his body one after another, trying to drag him into hell, but they failed to shake Lawrence, and even his steps could not be stopped. He was just like this Dragging, moving forward.
"I've learned something since then, Lorenzo Holmes."
"Nothing is worth trusting. All I can trust is myself and the sword in my hand."
The faces of the dead lingered beside Lawrence, and the ferocious faces roared in waves. They scratched Lawrence, but none of this could stop him.
"If it weren't for these things, I might really have united you and let you join this great process, but it's still a pity. I can no longer trust others."
At the end of that battle, Lawrence survived, and he was the only one who survived.
"How did you survive?"
Lorenzo looked at him solemnly. He had never thought that Lawrence had such a past, and he realized again that there was more to the church than what he saw.
"A gift from Lorenzo Medici, a Grail blood."
Lawrence burst into raucous laughter.
"I returned to the Evangelical Church alive. Their expressions at that time were extremely interesting. If it were the same before, I would have killed them all, but this time it was different. I learned to compromise and be patient until I destroyed them all."
A withered palm suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. Lorenzo had no time to dodge and was grabbed by it. Then more palms stretched out from under the cracked earth and wrapped around Lorenzo's body, binding him like an iron rope. Got him.
It was so heavy that, unlike Lawrence, Lorenzo found himself unable to even move, let alone move forward like Lawrence.
Then more chaotic hallucinations appeared before his eyes... These were not hallucinations, but memories, countless memory fragments, and the owner of these memories was not Lawrence, but strangers one after another.
Broken memories mixed with chaotic emotions swept through Lorenzo. In a daze of pain, Lorenzo knew what this thing was.
The residue, the residue of [the gap], the residue of will.
These are the remnants of the [Gap] destroyed by Lawrence. Countless wills are mixed together, almost contaminating Lorenzo's will.
"How many people did you invade?"
The heavy pressure made Lorenzo kneel down involuntarily. There was no need for him to defeat Lawrence in the [gap]. These countless residues were already corroding Lawrence bit by bit.
"There were so many people, so many that I can't remember them all."
Lawrence's expression was extremely relaxed, as if these residues could not affect him, or perhaps he had been corroded too deeply and integrated with these residues.
"Why, are you still alive?"
Lorenzo couldn't figure it out, countless memories and wills were mixed together. Under this level of pollution, Lawrence should have lost himself long ago, but now he is still "awake".
"The name doesn't matter, it's just a pronoun for the masks."
Lawrence's figure gradually declined, and it seemed that he could no longer withstand the oppression of the dead. His body finally fell down in front of Lorenzo's eyes, and was dragged into the burning cracks by countless hands, but then there was a Only a withered palm lifted Lawrence's mask and put it on his face.
The withered body was injected with strength, the stiff muscles began to become active, and the blood surged again.
It became Lawrence.
"The name doesn't matter, Lorenzo Holmes. It doesn't matter if I am Lawrence. What matters is what I do. What matters is the will that runs through it all."
It looked at Lorenzo, as if it was fighting for the mask and the "meaning" it represented, and countless palms grabbed it again.
"Many years ago, here, at the moment when I was about to die, the blood of the Holy Grail saved me and allowed me to see the future, an extremely distant future."
It walked to Lorenzo's side, not too far away, but within this distance, it died several times, and the mask was replaced again and again.
Lorenzo's heart was completely chilled. He was suddenly confused and scared. He couldn't figure out what he was facing.
Lawrence had died long ago, and countless residues had corrupted his will, and he was lost in broken memories.
Lawrence is still alive. He has lost his name and everything he owns, but he still remembers what he wants to do. It is like an iron law that binds him. No matter how many times it is replaced, this order is still resolutely carried out. .
This is the answer Lawrence found. He used absolute iron discipline to overcome the side effects of Mighty Gabriel, although the price was that the real him died a long, long time ago.
"For us, is human nature a protection or a shackles?"
It murmured to itself, and finally came to Lorenzo's side.
"What are you going to do..."
Lorenzo tried to say Lawrence's name, but the moment he blurted it out, he hesitated. He was not sure what to call this...monster in front of him.
"What am I going to do? It's simple, save the world."
it said.
Lorenzo was startled, and then cursed.
"What are you kidding!"
"I'm not kidding, the ideal of a golden age is still too far away and too unrealistic."
Its voice was calm, but Lorenzo could feel the despair mixed with it, and it finally gave up on this unattainable ideal.
"How can the demon be eradicated? This is a curse given to us by God. We cannot break the curse... But I can save the world and save everyone. I may not be able to eradicate the demon and bring about the golden age, but I can at least make it possible. More people survive to ensure the survival of the human race."
The voice was like a crazy whisper, constantly impacting Lorenzo's mind, and Lorenzo felt that his world was collapsing.
Save the world for the survival of all mankind.
That's its reason, its purpose.
"Some things have to be done, and the end of being bound by mortals is Lorenzo Medici, who has done so much, but finally failed and was defeated by ridiculous humanity.
I will not follow his path again, Lorenzo Holmes. "
It had been a long time since he had had such a frank conversation with someone. It was like a confession and a declaration of war.
"You are building an army, an army of secret blood. Do you know what will happen if this gets out of hand?"
Lorenzo snapped.
"This is necessary to save the world and allow mankind to survive. This is my army. It will only obey my orders."
It grabbed Lorenzo's head and forced him to look forward.
"If you think I'm wrong, then show it to me and try to prove me wrong and correct me instead of making some big claims, Lorenzo Holmes."
"I won't kill you. You are not my enemy, they are."
Lorenzo couldn't make any sound, he saw it, saw its memory, the nightmare hidden in its heart.
It was a vast sea of ​​blood. Lorenzo had seen this in his memory, but it was only a fragment, and now he had seen it all with his own eyes.
The tides are rushing towards the wilderness, and they are squirming strangely... They are not sea water, but countless monsters, ferocious monsters.
They are as numerous as ants, like sea tides, endless.
Skimming the wilderness, crossing the river, invading the city, raging flames rose from the ruins, people cried and resisted, the solid barriers collapsed little by little, before the monsters completely captured it, the guarding warriors One after another, they transformed into monsters.
The mortal army was easily defeated, and the Demon Hunting Order briefly held on for a while, but their number was too small, and they were eventually destroyed in the fire together with the Saint-Naro Cathedral.
Lorenzo saw that Old Dunling began to fall under this tide of despair, and the familiar place was piled with blood and corpses. He vaguely saw countless corpses again.
Shrike, Kestrel, Eve, Seleucus, Hercule...
Everyone will die, and this is an extremely dark and hopeless future.
Everyone was torn into pieces, the minced meat and internal organs were scattered on the ground, and blood smeared everything in sight. Gradually, Yin Erweg fell, followed by Gallonalo, the Viking countries, Leiber...
The whole world fell into dead silence.
Lorenzo was breathing heavily. He couldn't tell whether it was an illusion or a real memory. The suppressed despair caused him to lose body temperature and his mind went blank.
This is what it wants to see.
It let go of Lorenzo and walked slowly forward.
This is the last pure land, and now the demons are rushing towards it. It has no fear at all, but feels a sense of relief.
Not being bound by morals and ethics, abandoning human nature and desires, for this purpose, even oneself can be easily sacrificed.
Raising the nail sword towards the demons, Lawrence said calmly.
"This is my enemy, the battle I should fight."
(End of this chapter)