Embers of Embers

Chapter 487
The sound of waves, crowds, machinery, steam... The world seems to have always been like this. The noisy sounds are constantly mixed together, but the epidemic doctor does not find it disturbing, but feels that this is the breath of life, this The world is alive, not dead.
"Are you merciful? According to your ability, there is no possibility for me to kill you...even if it is just one of your many bodies."
The epidemic doctor looked at the north where the sky and the sea meet and said. There were dense bulges under his brown coat. With the injection of secret blood, his self-healing began to accelerate, and there was already some support under the empty sleeves.
"That's right. How does it feel to kill me? Is there a sense of accomplishment?"
Lawrence sat on another chair, separated by a small table from the epidemic doctor. He still wore the dark mask, looking calm and calm.
The two of them sat together, feeling calm, like old friends they hadn't seen for a long time.
This change seems a bit sudden and strange. They were still fighting for their lives just a few minutes ago, but now they are like having afternoon tea together. It seems that the bloody battle just now was just a casual fight.
"A sense of accomplishment? How is that possible?"
The epidemic doctor laughed self-deprecatingly. If Lawrence's tone hadn't been too serious, he would have wondered if this guy was laughing at him.
"I feel terrible. I worked so hard and tried all my means, but I still managed to kill you with a sneak attack when you let go." The epidemic doctor said, shaking his head, with helplessness in his voice, "I am really only suitable for being a doctor." As a scholar, fighting and killing is really not suitable for me."
It seems that Lawrence has been forced into a desperate situation. In fact, the epidemic doctor knows very well that as long as he is a little more serious and fights with the mentality of killing himself, there is no way that the epidemic doctor can get out of the dark underground.
"But...do you let me go? Lawrence."
He turned his head and looked at Lawrence beside him. The dark mask was like an abyss, with a bloody breeze blowing from it.
"I don't know what made you change your mind, but at some point before, you must have thought about killing me, right?"
the epidemic doctor asked.
Lawrence stared straight ahead. Thick steam surged from the iron-clad ship. Soldiers lined up on top of it to revive the sleeping steel beast. It was breathing thick smoke, and roaring fire crisscrossed the iron body.
He did not rush to answer the doctor's question, but remained silent for a long time. When seagulls flew by and the sea breeze blew on his face, he spoke slowly.
"Yes, I really thought about killing you at first. To a certain extent, you are stronger than me. With the knowledge in your mind, you can easily create a terrifying legion."
His voice was as serious as before, Lawrence was not joking, this guy had very little humor, almost none at all.
"This is probably the difference between warriors and scholars. Warriors can only solve the present, but scholars can shape the future..."
There were soldiers walking around within the field of vision. The entire Herne Cathedral was strictly guarded, and Lawrence could easily transform into any one of them.
"Before you stood with me, this legion obeyed my orders, but when you leave me, it is difficult to guarantee that you will not create such a legion for others, like Yin Erweg, once they have With this kind of power, combined with steam technology, there is no way Gaul Naluo can resist."
Listening to his words, the epidemic doctor felt a little headache.
"You have always had a hard time trusting other people, Lawrence. Your paranoia has made you become like this and made people around you uncomfortable."
The epidemic doctor said and added.
"Well, if you think about it carefully, there are not many people around you, so it seems that I am really unlucky."
He thought for a while and asked again.
"So what made you change your mind? If you wanted to you had a lot of ways for me to stay there forever instead of sitting here talking to you."
The epidemic doctor recalled the frightening battle just now. He was almost dancing with death. If he was not careful, the body that fell into the darkness was his own.
But for some unknown reason, Lawrence gave up in the end. He let himself kill the body. He also prepared the clothes and secret blood here, set up the chairs, and had a rare chat with himself.
Do the epidemic doctors think this is some kind of loyalty test?But the problem is that the time of this test is a bit wrong. Logically speaking, shouldn’t it be done when joining?As a person who is about to leave, he must come back no matter what.
"It's probably what you said at the time. No matter how slim the hope is, you want to give it a try. From this point of view, we are all the same. We can barely be considered the same kind."
Lawrence said as he took off his mask. Ever since he put on this mask, he rarely took it off, and now he looked a little ordinary.
In fact, the face under the mask is no longer important. What really represents Lawrence is the mask. Now that it has been taken off, there is an ordinary face underneath. The epidemic doctor is slightly impressed. He remembers that he is probably a legionnaire. a soldier in , but now he's Lawrence.
The Legion is Lawrence, and Lawrence is the Legion.
"What, you have empathy for me? Empathy between one monster and another monster?" The epidemic doctor said with goosebumps. "Wow, this sounds so scary, like a ridiculous story."
Lawrence deadpanned. He wasn't kidding.
"The more important thing is what you said before, you thought you were going to die..."
Lawrence's voice paused.
"Death has become blurry to us, but even so, you still feel that you will die, die in the pursuit of truth, and die in the cold north."
Death is an extremely serious and cruel word, but in the case of these monster-like two people, it seems to have lost its original meaning. It is a word that belongs to mortal things and can no longer limit these people who embark on the road to sublimation. Monsters.
But now the immortal monster seems to have predicted something. He knows his own death, accepts it calmly, and goes there happily.
"My words are not that absolute...not necessarily, I'm just a little uneasy."
The epidemic doctor thought for a moment and then said.
"I just speculate that there must be some danger there. Otherwise, based on the history of the Demon Hunting Order, it is impossible for them not to discover these doubts. If this was the case, they would have launched an expedition to the north, but the result was nothing. So This leaves only two possibilities.
Either the end of the north is just a desolate glacier, or something is guarding there, and all those who go there have no chance of returning, so that the secret of truth is buried there forever. "
Thinking of this, the epidemic doctor became very excited.
"I really want to know what all this is about."
Lawrence ignored him. He seemed to be reminiscing. He rarely recalled. Coupled with the abuse of power Gabriel, his consciousness had long collided with countless memories. They blended with each other. It constitutes a twisted and crazy life.
This doesn't seem to limit Lawrence. Most of the memories in his life have been broken and lost, but some of them he still remembers firmly and has never forgotten.
"It's probably empathy, it's probably seeing another self, it's probably the remaining bit of humanity..."
Lawrence muttered to himself.
"Epidemic doctor, do you still remember what you said at that time? When you knew that I would die in that destined future and die in my ideal, you were very happy. You were happy for me. You said how disappointing this was. An enviable situation.”
There was a slight twitch on the calm face, perhaps because the memory had affected the wound, and Lawrence's expression became slightly ferocious, but his expression remained calm, as if the piercing pain could not shake his will.
"At that time, I also thought this way of death was great. You must know that not everyone can die satisfactorily like this. Then I saw you...
At some point before, you should have thought about whether you should surrender and whether you should obey me in exchange for the possibility of continuing to survive. "
Lawrence was still looking straight ahead, as if he were talking to himself if the epidemic doctor hadn't been sitting next to him.
The epidemic doctor nodded, and he sat on the chair carelessly. In his current state, there was no need to be wary of anything. It was as if he had looked away. Since life and death were all in Lawrence's hands, it was better to relax at this last moment.
"Yes, I have thought about it. After all, death means death. Whether it is truth or life, everything will disappear with death."
"Then why did you stand up again in the end?" Lawrence asked puzzledly. At that time, the plague doctor's body was covered with wounds. He had no chance of winning, but he still faked his death and launched a surprise attack.
"Because if I don't leave now, I'm afraid I will never have a chance again. Who knows if you can win the doomsday battle? You also said that you will die in the doomsday. Think about it, Lawrence, Even a monster like you is dead, how can I possibly survive?”
The epidemic doctor speaks his mind.
"If you stay here, you might die in the apocalypse. If you try to escape, there might be a glimmer of hope... It's so beautiful, so tempting, and it's more than worth everything I have to give.
Of course, this chance of life was wiped out by you. Damn, you are such a monster. If I want to leave, I have to at least kill all these soldiers, right? After all, you are the legion itself. "
The doctor took a deep breath. This was Maluli Port, and all the armaments had been taken over by the choir warriors.
This kind of thing has to be faced, he asked.
"Then what are you going to do with me? Lawrence."
Lawrence did not respond. He also looked at the north where the sky and the sea meet. On that vast ice field, perhaps the truth of this world is hidden.
"Actually... I really want to go and have a look, Epidemic Doctor. I also want to see the so-called truth and understand the nature of this world. If possible, I really want to go with you, but unfortunately There is no time, I must stay here to prepare for the opening of the war."
As soon as the words changed, he slowly turned his head and looked at the epidemic doctor with dull eyes.
"So I will let you go and pursue the so-called truth."
"Then can you give me a pleasure...ah?"
The epidemic doctor was just about to say if he could choose a less painful way to die, and then he was shocked by Lawrence's words. He looked at Lawrence in astonishment, and his face under the beak mask was twisted into a ball, as if he was doubting. Did I hear it wrong?
"Yes, I will let you leave. As I said before, I will give you the fleet, soldiers, supplies, everything you need, and let you complete this expedition to the truth."
Lawrence guessed what the epidemic doctor was thinking, and he continued.
"As for why? Because I can understand you."
He stretched out his hand and tried to touch the sky.
"We have sacrificed so much, becoming monsters, selling our souls to the devil, suffering and carrying sin... and now it's within our reach...
I can understand your thoughts and feel your mood, and because of this, I feel that I should not stop you. "
Lawrence gave his reason, which sounded a bit ridiculous to the doctor, and even made him feel confused. He began to wonder if the guy in front of him was Lawrence. Such a crazy and cold-blooded monster actually had such a side. The doctor didn't think so. Dare to believe this.
"Epidemic doctor, we become monsters for something, but unfortunately we can never become real monsters, because above this non-human body, there is always a part that belongs to 'human', just like Metal impurities cannot be removed no matter how many times they are purified.
And that is the 'reason' for us to become monsters. The wish we made when we were still 'human', even if we become monsters, it still walks with us and becomes this unclean ingredient. "
Lawrence paused. After that burning wilderness, he seemed to have never shown such a human side again.
"Epidemic Doctor, you helped me by studying the Book of Revelation, producing secret blood, and building an army.
I can say you helped me realize my wish...
I think... now it's time for me to help you realize your wish, instead of letting you die here for some strange reason. "
The epidemic doctor was stunned and hesitated.
"So we are... considered 'friends'?"
The epidemic doctor was a little confused. Such words were too unfamiliar to him, and it must have been the same for Lawrence, but now when he mentioned it, he had an inexplicable feeling.
happy?Or something else? This feeling was so strange that Dr. Epidemic didn’t know how to describe it. But then he felt a little lost. Dr. Epidemic knew very well that this precious thing only existed for this moment, and he was about to sail away. , is about to leave. Perhaps this is the last time he and Lawrence see each other. Their paths finally usher in a fork in the road, and they each go to different places of death.
"probably……"
Lawrence couldn't understand either. He began to doubt what he was doing. In his original intention, he should have killed the epidemic doctor, but for that ridiculous reason, he let him go.
But who would have thought that monsters also have friends, setting fire to mountains together, and doing unforgivable things together...
Lawrence shook his head helplessly, then raised his hand to hold his face, pressed his forehead hard, trying to relieve the pain in his mind, and said with a wry smile.
"Friends? It sounds amazing. Monsters can also have friends?"
Then the voice sounded again, and this time Lawrence lost his original calm demeanor. He became furious and whispered with anger.
"So, epidemic doctor, go to hell."
These words seemed to be carrying a sword and a gun, intending to completely kill the epidemic doctor.
"Die for your truth."
The epidemic doctor listened to his words and seemed to want to say something else, but felt that those words were not suitable for the communication between monsters. He gave up, turned his head back, looked into the distance together, and answered calmly.
"Well, I see."
The epidemic doctor was silent for a moment, then continued.
"Farewell then, Lawrence."
(End of this chapter)