Gun of Ashes

Chapter 722: Chapter 9 Golden Dawn

”An invisible force, it is everywhere, limiting our understanding of this world... I have also discussed this with Merlin. I think it can be called the ’Boundary’.”

As Lorenzo spoke, the warm hall also felt cold and silent. Arthur sensed a bit of unease, as if something strange was about to happen.

”Think carefully, everyone, isn’t it so? Humanity has existed for so long, yet we only have recorded history from recent years. So what were we doing before that, and what were the Demons doing?”

Lorenzo began his presentation.

”Arthur, Your Majesty, you Ingwigs have fought with the Demons for so long, but have you ever thought about this: the Demons we hunt were essentially monsters transformed from human Demonization. In other words, during this millennium where humans fought Demons, we were actually just fighting another group of humans.”

This is a terrifying truth.

”Fighting with another group of Demonized humans, this ongoing hatred is, fundamentally, just a civil war among humans.”

Everything fell silent, only Lorenzo’s voice continued to echo.

”Actually, it’s all like a plague, but this plague doesn’t kill humans; instead, it turns them into monsters called Demons. So, what is the source of all this? Who is the ’patient zero’ that started it all?”

”The Holy Grail.”

Arthur said solemnly. This was information Lorenzo had provided, the Evangelical Church had captured the root source of the Demons, the entity known as the ’Holy Grail’.

”No, it’s a lie, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s lie,” Lorenzo directly denied, ”We’ve all been deceived by him. Regarding this root source, we’re still unclear, and the so-called ’Holy Grail’ is just another more fearsome monster.”

”As for the Pseudo Holy Grail...

Forgive me, Arthur, and Your Majesty, forgive me for explaining all this in a convoluted way. You should know too, that erosion is memetic, it can spread through any medium that can carry ’information’. Perhaps when I say all this, you will be eroded by the information carried by my words.”

Arthur’s expression darkened, he realized the thorniness of the situation. Surely, this cannot be recklessly revealed, especially here in the Platinum Palace, with Queen Victoria close to Lorenzo.

”Let’s stop here for today!”

Arthur suggested, very alert. If what Lorenzo said was true, and this information triggered erosion, inexplicable terror would directly descend upon the Platinum Palace.

”No need, continue, Mr. Holmo.”

The Queen still wore that serene smile, as if nothing could shake her composure.

”But...”

Arthur wanted to explain the potential crisis, but the Queen interrupted him.

”The Purification Mechanism was directly commissioned by the Victoria Royal Family. I know the terror of the Demons better than you do, so there’s no need to worry about me.”

Seeing the Queen’s determination, Arthur couldn’t say more, and Lorenzo continued.

”The Evangelical Church, using the ’Holy Grail’, developed the ’Pseudo Holy Grail’. No... to be precise, they learned about the ’Pseudo Holy Grail’, which in essence is just information regarding the ’Boundary’. The name is merely a misleading guise.

Regarding the ’Boundary’, we can roughly understand it as an early warning system.”

”Early warning system?”

”That’s right, once someone delves too deeply into the Demons’ knowledge, uncovering those parts intentionally hidden, it seems to trigger this warning. Those hidden monsters... you could understand them as the ’Holy Grail’. These monsters temporarily called the ’Holy Grail’ will eradicate those knowledgeable, obliterating all information with them.”

As Lorenzo continued his narration, Arthur again fell silent. His eyes trembled slightly, as the distant memories were evoked by Lorenzo’s words.

”The Red Signal event...”

”What did you say?”

Lorenzo heard Arthur’s whisper and asked curiously.

”The Red Signal event, more than a decade ago, the Perpetual Motion Pump experienced a Demonic invasion. We didn’t know where the Demons came from; they simply appeared out of nowhere underground, destroying everything at the time. We named this event the Red Signal, and subsequent investigations made no progress.”

Arthur recalled the event that had severely impacted the Purification Mechanism, feeling an endless cold as if returning to that time.

”Just like you described, no information could be retained, and all those involved fell into madness due to erosion. Despite our efforts, nothing but emptiness remained.

However...”

Arthur’s words took a turn as he looked at Lorenzo standing up.

”Lorenzo, this is also something I was planning to investigate next. Why not address it now.”

During the skirmish at Black Mountain Hospital, Knight Commander Mordred briefly awoke; he is a direct witness to the Red Signal event. He said that during his erosion, it was like being trapped in a... ’Gap’.”

Lorenzo listened carefully to Arthur’s words. He only intended to weave a convincing lie using existing information for the Purification Mechanism, but he unexpectedly extracted more information.

”Continue,” he said.

”Perhaps, all those who were eroded had their consciousness trapped in the ’Gap’. Of course, that’s not the main point of discussion. The point is, through him, I finally discovered what was happening inside the Perpetual Motion Pump during the Red Signal event.”