The window was pushed open by the strong wind, and the crackling sounds continued one after another, as if countless hands were beating hard. Under this strange feeling, a cold chill poured into the room, causing the candlelight to sway violently.
The sky and the earth were all gray, and endless torrential rain fell from the rolling dark clouds, violently hitting the port, the sea, and the ships. The waves were constantly surging, carrying seawater and slapping on the decks.
The rainfall in this rainy season is much more intense than in previous years. Above the remote port of Rendona, the outside world seems to be experiencing an apocalypse. The anchor chain is tightened and countless ships are
Like a floating leaf, it is pulled and pushed around at will.
However, the harsh conditions outside could hardly affect everything inside the ship. In the darkness, the flickering firelight reflected cruel silhouettes on people's faces.
The old man raised his head slightly and looked at the uneasy guest at the end of the long table.
He is wearing a cold and dark mask, with traces of bright gold on it, like a perfect handicraft. His whole body is shrouded in a dark robe. Under the loose fabric, it is difficult to see the shape of his body.
to discern his information.
"Long time no see, Cardinal Miguel."
There was a vague sound under the mask, and he said hello to the old man at the end of the long table.
"Priest Lawrence?"
Miguel asked with some suspicion. Although the meeting had been made in advance, the Lawrence he was familiar with in his memory would not wear a mask. He was confused about the true identity under the mask.
"it's me."
"Then why don't you take off the mask?"
"Under the mask, there is just another mask."
Lawrence avoided Miguel's question. In fact, except for the epidemic doctor, no one knew Lawrence's face after his rebirth. After that, he wore a mask wherever he went.
"Then, if you don't want to take off your mask, what do you have to prove yourself?"
Miguel looked full of vigilance. The exiles he led had been being hunted by the new pope. In order to counterattack the new pope, he needed the Book of Revelation that could change the situation, so he sent Shermans
Arrive at Old Dunling.
But a few days ago, he got the news of Shermans' death from a secret channel. After that, judging from the information Shermans received, Lawrence died in connection with the purification agency long before God's birthday.
In the middle of a battle.
If Lawrence had died long ago, then who was the masked man in front of him? If he was really Lawrence, how did he fake his own death?
Miguel was extremely vigilant. Lawrence was one of the culprits who caused the Night of Holy Advent, not to mention that he was a demon hunter himself.
Lawrence fell silent, turned his head, and looked out the window at the end of the storm.
With his arrival here, the action of the epidemic doctor should also have begun. Under Lawrence's layout, whether it is Shermans or the New Order, they are all controlled by Lawrence. The letter written by the secret blood, with the help of
With poor information, everyone can easily be manipulated.
Presumably a local war has started in Black Mountain Hospital at this moment, and everything is developing according to his expectations.
"Prove it? This kind of thing is too simple."
Lawrence said, taking something out from under his dark robe, and then placed it on the long table.
In the silence, the only sound left in the room was the sound of wind and rain outside the window, followed by the sound of heavy breathing. Miguel stared at the book in front of Lawrence, and his pupils tightened little by little, until he changed from calm to
Frenzy and panic.
It was a book, a very simple book. The outer cover was wrapped in something similar to leather. The whole book looked very old, like a cultural relic that had just been excavated from a certain excavation site.
Miguel could only sit there and look at it from a distance, and it was difficult to distinguish more details.
"This...this is..."
""Revelation"."
Under the mask, Lawrence's voice was filled with steely chaos, sounding like a machine, dull and restless.
"There is no need to doubt whether it is true or false. Although you have not seen "Revelation", your inner feelings will not deceive you, right?"
Lawrence's voice echoed in his ears, but Miguel didn't reply. His calm face had already been slightly distorted, as if something evil was placed in front of him, grabbing his eyeballs.
, making it difficult for him to look away.
At the same time, all kinds of weird feelings arose in my heart, as if something thick and greasy was churning in my stomach, and cold invisible hands were caressing my spine bit by bit.
The dark side in his heart was constantly amplified at this moment, and Miguel didn't even notice. His heartbeat had accelerated involuntarily, and along with the sound of beast-like breathing, sweat covered his forehead.
"Put...put it away."
The old man tried his best to move his eyes to the side. Lawrence was right, this was the "Apocalypse".
The Evangelical Church's protection of the Book of Revelation is not strict, because it itself is a terrible source of erosion, carrying powerful memetic pollution. When faced with it, mortals, just like Miguel, will be tempted into madness.
Even a determined demon hunter will be killed by the cursed knowledge while reading it.
Its own nature is the best defense, but it was captured by Lawrence in an unknown way.
"So, what are you going to do, Lawrence? I am just a humble exile. To you who possess the Book of Revelation, we exiles have little value."
Although Miguel longs for this power, he has a clear understanding of the current situation, and he knows very well that he is worthless to Lawrence.
He didn't even have any desire to snatch the Book of Revelation. Facing this demon hunter who was once the dean, Miguel knew far better than others how powerful Lawrence was.
Miguel may be able to command those believers who still believe in him, but those mortal believers have no threat in front of the demon hunters and will only be slaughtered casually like livestock.
"No, Miguel, you still have some value, otherwise you wouldn't be alive today."
Lawrence was not in a hurry to reveal his purpose, and the eyes under the mask seemed to see through Miguel's heart.
"And you are also expecting something, right? Otherwise you would not come to see me in person, I am so dangerous."
Miguel was silent for a while, during which the only sound was the sound of the storm outside the window, but soon a hoarse laughter sounded, and Miguel put away the panic and panic on his face, and looked squarely at the masked man in front of him.
"I'm starting to believe you are Lawrence."
This was a dangerous meeting. As the leader of the exiles, Miguel knew the value of his head very well, but even so, he still came to see Lawrence, who should have died, and personally ventured into this dangerous place.
middle.
"What do you want from me? Lawrence."
Miguel asked.
Faced with Miguel's question, Lawrence was not in a hurry to answer, but talked about something else.
"You know, during the time that I owned the Book of Revelation, I spent a lot of money to gain a very small part of the knowledge."
"for example?"
Miguel was attracted by Lawrence's words.
Although he was once a Cardinal, in the final analysis he was just a mortal and did not have the ability to read the Book of Revelation. Even if he glimpsed the book from a distance, he could deeply feel the erosion of it.
a feeling of.
There are many prerequisites for the evangelical church to read the Book of Revelation, but the ultimate goal is to remain sane until he passes on the message he understands.
After the information is discontinued due to the Holy Night, demon hunters who are resistant to erosion are the most suitable readers.
"For example...such as the book itself."
Surprisingly, Lawrence brought the topic to the Book of Revelation itself.
"People are chasing the knowledge contained in this book, but they have never paid attention to the uniqueness of the book itself."
His fingers gently stroked the rough surface of the book, and the passage of time left scars and traces on it one after another. The uneven touch was so clear, like miniature mountains.
"This is made of human skin, Miguel. The entire Book of Revelation is made of human skin."
These are words that ordinary people would tremble upon hearing, but in front of Lawrence and Miguel, two old monsters who have lived for who knows how long, such information is ordinary and cannot touch anyone's nerves.
"So? It's just made of human skin. We have done far more cruel things than this." Miguel responded.
"Don't worry, listen to me... This is a story you are very familiar with, but during this period, I had a sudden idea and had a new explanation for it."
Lawrence continued, this was a story that was pieced together bit by bit in his mind, a hidden story.
"Do you still remember the origins of the Book of Revelation and the Gospels? In that dark age when demons were rampant, those people who could not bear fear received the oracle and headed north. After who knows how many years, they came from that distant place.
In the land, he brought back the knowledge given by God.
They established the evangelical church and became the first saints."
"Of course I know, what exactly do you want to say?"
Miguel's eyes were still full of doubts. As a cardinal, he had heard this story so many times that it almost seemed to sink into his heart.
Lawrence fell silent at first. He recalled everything he encountered when he sneaked into the Temple of Stasis and encountered the Silent Man. He vaguely felt something, an imperceptible thread that connected the doubts one after another.
"Then have you ever wondered why the Book of Revelation they brought back was made of human skin?"
Lawrence's eyes fell on the simple "Apocalypse", as if he was not affected by erosion, and the pupils under the mask were extremely clear.
“If it is said that gods used human skin to write these forbidden knowledge, does this prove that the so-called ‘gods’ really exist?
Or is it that the first saints found something and used human skin to record these things?
Does it mean that the Book of Revelation before us is just a copy of something?"
"These are just myths!"
Miguel didn't know why, but he actually felt frightened by Lawrence's simple and crazy conjectures, as if something evil was coming. He snapped at Lawrence and interrupted his words.
Lawrence was not angry, but he seemed to be inspired by Miguel, with a strange joy in his voice.
"Yes, all of this is just a myth, but who first told this myth? And the things that prove the authenticity of this myth are right in front of us right now, aren't they?"
A trembling laughter came from under the dark mask.
"Look, Miguel, you don't believe in any gods, right? Otherwise you wouldn't say that it's just myths. You know very well that these things are just lies... Then throw away those modifications.
With the whitewashing of beliefs, what is the original 'truth' of 'myth'?"
He gently stroked "Apocalypse", and the heavy rain outside the window became more intense. The strong wind made the entire ship tremble violently. The feeling inside was even more intense, as if the whole world was about to collapse.
"None of this appears out of thin air. All of this should have a root, the origin of myth, the origin of Revelation, and our origin."
Lawrence raised his head, and the two looked at each other. Miguel could see blazing white fireworks slowly rising in the dark abyss under the mask.
"Michael, the Book of Revelation, the Evangelical Church, and I, who carry the secret blood, are the perfect proof of all this. Somewhere in this world, in the mythology, in the north where the saints received revelation
, there is the source of all this.”
The biting cold wind rolled up and the biting rain poured into the room. The burning candles were extinguished one by one at this moment, falling into endless darkness. In the darkness, Miguel looked at Lawrence expressionlessly. He was now unexpectedly
His calmness, or maybe those bad performances just now were just his disguise.
Miguel asked in the darkness.
"Why are you doing this? Lawrence, you obviously already have supreme power and can form a new demon-hunting order at any time to rule people secretly. Why do you still persist in pursuing these long-forgotten things?"
why?
Yes, why? I am so unscrupulous, so cruel and crazy.
This is because……
"Because I saw the future, Miguel.
A very distant future, a terrible future, a future where everyone dies."
"so what?"
Lawrence's words were paused, and for some reason he suddenly remembered the old man's face. Perhaps it was at that time that the two of them had differences and eventually took different paths.
The nostalgia only paused for a moment, and the face under the mask showed a smile, and the corners of the mouth were almost torn apart, just like the ghost in the nightmare.
"That's why I want to save the world, Miguel."
The man stood up, grabbed the Book of Revelation and pressed it on his chest.