Embers of Embers

Chapter 683 Riot
The Temple of Stasis once again fell into a long-lost calm, but what surged under this calm was uncertainty and disaster.
The new pope held his sword and backed away little by little, and finally sat weakly on the steps, looking warily at the mouth of the deep well.
He raised the nailed sword with trembling hands. The new pope stared at the blade, trying hard to make it stop shaking slightly, but he couldn't do it. Under the pressure of his will, his body was no longer as sensitive as before, and now it was extremely sluggish. , It took a long time before the trembling blade gradually stabilized.
"I... can't hold it any longer?"
He muttered to himself with some doubts.
Unlike Lawrence Lorenzo and others, the new pope is just an ordinary demon hunter. The only special thing is that he is named a holy angel and resists the influence of erosion with his own willpower , continuing from the night of the Holy Advent to the present.
He has no credentials for sublimation. As the erosion intensifies, he will only fall into a deeper and deeper vortex, unable to extricate himself.
Once independently resisting the influence of erosion on himself was enough to cause a headache for the new Pope, but now he has another bigger trouble.
Those monsters from down the well.
The new pope didn't know exactly when it became like this, but he guessed that it might be after the purification agency eliminated Elend and Roger.
With the death of these two beings who were closest to the end of sublimation and most likely to become the "road", the well of sublimation that had been calm for endless time rarely became a little restless.
The new pope didn't know whether this was the so-called "restlessness". After the old Dunling's letter and he knew what was being held underground, the new pope never rashly went deep into the underground again.
But he could clearly feel that under the well of sublimation made of holy silver, the intensity of erosion was slowly increasing. They were like overflowing mist, gathering in the well, trying to climb out of the well little by little, silently.
Now the power within it has not fully awakened, but the entire Seven Hills has been obviously affected by it. The believers in the city have fallen into nightmares, and some people can't even sleep. They still stubbornly praise their faith, but The new pope knew it was all in vain.
The once glorious faith cannot save anyone. It is better to hold on to the sword than to fold your hands and pray.
Is this the end?still……
The new pope is troubled in his heart. Even now, he is not sure whether the evangelical church can continue in history. With the advancement of technology, ignorant faith is being dragged into the shadows little by little.
He didn't care much about it. The new church may have had faith, but all this disappeared with the outbreak of Holy Advent Night.
But now, he doesn't have the courage to announce all this to the believers. Even if he really ends his faith, he guesses it will take decades or even hundreds of years. After all, this faith is so deep-rooted.
The new pope believes that if he destroys all this, what he will get will not be the end of the faith in history, but the madness of another group of people. They will regard themselves as heretics, shout that the pope is bewitched by the devil, and they will destroy the former church. , build your own kingdom of heaven.
Just like Orthodoxy.
He stopped thinking. The new pope couldn't understand this kind of thing for the time being, let alone there were more important things at the moment.
Well of sublimation.
The new pope could not imagine the day when the power of the Well would be fully awakened. This might be the night of the Second Advent.
"But why do you wake up at this time?"
The new pope was puzzled.
In order to persuade the new pope, Lorenzo directly revealed all the secrets to him. Whether it was the secret keeper or the devil in the well, all this was presented to the new pope.
Therefore, he also knew that the Ineffable One who was severely injured at the time was imprisoned under the Well of Ascension. In the following time, it remained silent, as if it was dead, until a few days ago...
Is it because the "road" has been eradicated?
The new pope suddenly thought that the Unspeakable had just fallen into a deep sleep, but such a terrifying existence could disturb the world just by talking in his sleep.
It is the incarnation of disorder and chaos, and its only purpose of existence is to continuously sublimate and expand.
In order to achieve such a goal, it can even produce the so-called "reason" from disorder and chaos to perform all this.
Perhaps there was a reason for the existence of the "road" before. Sooner or later, it would be completely out of trouble, as long as it lay dormant in the darkness. But now, the "road" has been eradicated, and humans have also retrieved the last [Final Echo], and are ready to deal with it. Its final exile.
So it couldn't help it, it was restless, trying to break out of the cage.
"Another Advent night."
The new pope commented like this, probably because he had experienced it once. This time he was not too afraid, but had a calm mood.
He did not fall under the spell of the Unspeakable, for the new pope still kept his mission in mind.
This is a destined final battle, and if won, all these evils will be put to an end.
He looked forward to the world after the end of sin, although he didn't know if he would still have the chance to see it.
But every time he thought of this, the new pope felt that the pressure in his heart became much lighter, and even the severe pain in his mind weakened a bit.
"Your Majesty."
A voice sounded from the deep darkness, followed by crisp footsteps approaching.
Anthony is back, and he is the only one allowed to come near this place for now.
"The believers are evacuating in an orderly manner. In about two days, most of the believers will be evacuated. However, in addition to these, some people are still resisting tenaciously and even clashing with the soldiers."
Anthony said with a hint of helplessness that their strong faith had now become a constraint for them. These stubborn believers would rather die than surrender and would rather leave this great holy city than say anything.
"Is that so? Then use force. If force doesn't work, then kill them all."
Facing the most devout believers, the new pope spoke cruel words.
"Suppose...suppose what I think is correct, once the monster in the well climbs up, even if it spreads a little power, it will turn the city into hell, and those devout believers will transform into powerful demons."
The new pope slowly stood up and stood up again.
"This is the place where the Seven Hills are. We have nowhere to escape but to fight."
"Okay, I understand." Anthony didn't ask any questions and just followed the order faithfully.
"Also, if the Knights Templar surround the city, they cannot fight the erosion head-on. All they can do is stop the escaping and sporadic demons."
The plan was so familiar, like another Advent night.
"And in this holy city, all the demon hunters will gather here to welcome the arrival of the enemy."
The new pope planned everything.
"What about those guests who come from afar? Will they really come?"
Anthony asked uncertainly. Although he didn't want to say so, he still had to admit that the Evangelical Church today has declined, and the Demon Hunting Order will hardly have its former glory after its reorganization.
Not to mention that these demon hunters can only fight against demons, but they are still helpless when facing the Unspeakable.
The current hope really seems to lie on the other two forces, one is the mysterious Lawrence, and the other is Lorenzo, who has proven to be capable of destroying everything.
"They have to come. Like I said, all the witchers will be here."
The new pope is certain.
"This is where everything begins and where everything ends."
Under the pitch-black wellhead, something seemed to be moving in the endless darkness, and the sound of wind sounded, as light as a mockery from the depths of the darkness.
The two fell into a long silence, until the faint sound of swords, halberds and guns rang out.
"What's wrong?" asked the new pope.
"I don't know, I'll go and see!"
After Anthony finished speaking, he turned around and left. The new pope needed to stay here and he could not leave. It could be said that after leaving the Stasis Temple, everything would be handled by Anthony.
He was very fast, and the current situation did not allow for any accidents. Outside the Cathedral of Saint-Naro, the Templar Knights waved their swords and scolded the approaching crowd, but the crowd did not panic, but became excited.
"The devil has occupied the sacred! That's why Your Majesty made such a foolish decision!"
Fanatic believers shouted loudly that they were unwilling to leave the holy city and fell into madness under pressure.
The Templar knight rode his horse and brandished his sword, and the crowd crowded over and surrounded him.
"This is the place of the Seven Hills, the great sacred city, and we will never succumb to evil."
They went on talking wildly.
It may be extreme and crazy beliefs, or it may be the infection of nightmares for many days. Under the influence of erosion, people's thoughts begin to be extreme and crazy, until they commit atrocities.
The first hand stretched out from the crowd and grabbed the Templar on the horse. Before he could react, more hands grabbed him and pulled him off the horse.
"For Your Majesty!"
Someone shouted.
"For the Holy City!"
Their voices twisted into howls like wild beasts.
In panic, the Templar knight slashed his sword, but it was quickly buried by the crowd that came up. After a low roar and whine, it disappeared completely, leaving only blood and broken meat on the ground.
Seeing this, the Templar knights in the distance couldn't help but grimace, feeling great pressure.
With bloodstains on their faces, the fanatics walked slowly towards the Saint-Naro Cathedral. They were dressed in rags and they were the most devout ascetics in the Holy City. For them, their expulsion meant the collapse of their faith.
Facing these fanatical believers, the Templar Knights felt a rare fear in their hearts.
Believers have always been in awe of the Templar Knights, but now they are on the opposite side, and their former awe has turned into anger towards the heretics.
"Stop them!"
I don't know which Templar Knight yelled, and the next moment the other guarding Templar Knights seemed to have come to their senses and raised the exquisite firearms beside them.
Nowadays, sword blades are just a status symbol, and the real weapons of death are these cold firearms.
The first round of warning shots sounded, but no one stopped. Their faces were ferocious, like evil ghosts.
A second round of gunfire rang out, and this time the Templars opened fire on the crowd. Bullets rained down, and a group of people fell, but soon another group of people stepped forward and stepped over the bodies.
No one expected that the first gunshot in the Holy City would be so explosive.
The firepower of the Templars was enough to guard the Cathedral of Saint-Naro, but what they were worried about was not that. Once the commotion spread, the whole city might go into riots.
The believers in the Seven Hills are originally the most devout group among the Evangelical Church, and the so-called "piety" will also be the most "crazy" when necessary.
Under the successive nightmares, no one knew what these fanatics would do, and even said...
The Templar Knight looked at his colleagues who were firing beside him. Those who can become Templar Knights are themselves the most devout believers. So are there any of them who are also trapped in extremes?
Yes, it's reasonable even if it goes to extremes, isn't it?This sudden nightmare and the new pope's unclear instructions rudely and forcefully told the believers to leave this holy city.
Rather than evacuating, it would be better to say being driven away.
Logically speaking, Your Majesty would not be like this...
Could it be...could it be true that as they said, the devil invaded the Holy City and bewitched your Majesty.
Thinking of this, the templar slowly lowered the muzzle of his gun, and he followed the darkness in his heart, almost touching its edge...
"Don't stop, do your duty."
The cold voice brought the Templar back to reality. He looked to his side and saw Anthony walking down the stairs.
His face was sullen, like a cold sword.
The cold breath made the Templar follow his orders and pull the trigger.
Anthony was born in the Knights Templar, and he also had a very high prestige in the Knights Templar. His arrival somewhat stabilized the morale of the army.
Quarrels and riots continued, starting from the Cathedral of Saint-Naro, and such disasters were gradually spreading.
Bursts of gunshots rang out in the holy city.
Anthony was not panicked, everything was expected, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
The monsters underground were ready to move, and the gunshots here were like breaking the strings that maintained the sanity of the fanatic believers. They fell into hysterical madness and used them from all directions to try to attack the Cathedral of Saint-Naro.
Witnessing this crazy and ferocious scene, Anthony couldn't help but think of that night again.
That night called the Night of Holy Advent, and the demon hunter who died before his eyes.
"What exactly is faith? An unknown and unpredictable force, or a tool to control people's hearts?"
He muttered in a low voice, but no one answered for this lost lamb.
The only one who can give the answer is Anthony himself.
So Anthony chose the new pope and became his hammer. He believed that as long as he followed the new pope, he would one day find the answer to this puzzle.
Now, he was getting closer to the answer, almost within reach.
(End of this chapter)