Gun of Ashes

Chapter 503: Chapter 99 Fun_2

”Did you strike at the Purification Mechanism’s people? This could expose us prematurely!”

Now, the new Order’s actions in Old Dunling are like dancing on a knife’s edge; the peace could shatter in the next moment, leading both sides to war.

”It’s part of the plan... Didn’t His Eminence agree to my plan? This is merely to make the plan more secure,” Moriarty explained his reasoning for his actions.

After a brief wait, instructions from the Evangelical Church were issued, approving the plan against Lorenzo Holmes proposed by Moriarty.

”So you did all this? You even drove an ordinary person insane earlier; is that part of your plan too? If the Purification Mechanism discovers any issues with us, it could easily lead to war!”

Ironically, Samuel had read about that ordinary person in a report—the poor man named Nible. At the time, Samuel thought he was just a typical mental patient, but later in discussions with Moriarty, he learned that it was Moriarty’s handiwork.

The madman before him was trying to destroy a person’s mind between hallucination and reality.

Even before the new Pope agreed to his plan, this guy had been executing his abominable entertainment in Old Dunling.

”Of course.”

Moriarty admitted these acts outright. After infiltrating Black Mountain Hospital and assuming the identity of a psychologist, Nible became his first patient.

Treatment was quite an interesting process, very interesting. Moriarty rarely found any enjoyment in it, a feeling he had never discovered during his time in Florence.

Delving into a person’s mind, tearing away all defenses and disguises, a living person stands starkly before him, their past and future laid out like dismantled tools, neatly arranged on the table.

It’s a wonderful sensation; for a moment, you feel like you completely control this person, have become their master, their god.

”Our ultimate target is Lorenzo Holmes... Although it’s unclear what exactly has happened, from His Eminence’s stern attitude, it’s apparent that we must capture him, even if many perish.”

Moriarty recalled the handwriting on the paper. He liked observing people’s surfaces from the details, and for the first time in the new Pope’s handwriting, he sensed terror... terror, anger, too many complex emotions.

For this long-defected Demon Hunter, the new Pope’s rigidity was incredible; they need Lorenzo alive, as long as he can speak, even if he’s been dismembered or carved apart by the Nail Sword.

The importance lies not in him but in the secrets hidden in his brain.

”He survived the Night of the Holy Arrival, a Demon Hunter; although we’ve never faced those ourselves, surely his will is incredibly strong, strong enough to resist the tide-like despair.”

Moriarty spoke while picking up a book, a book about mental illnesses from Black Mountain Hospital.

Through those people driven mad by demons, Black Mountain Hospital had quickly advanced in mental research. To implement his plan, Moriarty didn’t mind learning some of it, though compared to professionals, he was much slower, so he partly relied on Authority.

”To ensure a more stable progression of the plan, I am gradually switching experimental subjects, starting from Nible, who was an ordinary person, then to Joey, who was specially modified. The progress looks good so far.”

Moriarty said that these people were his guinea pigs, and he was experimenting with his venom. When it became most potent, that would be the time to attack Lorenzo.

”I still believe your plan is unfeasible.”

Moriarty’s plan is based on the unpredictable nature of the human heart, building on an unstable foundation that made Samuel very uneasy.

”But it’s not just Fr. Anthony; even His Eminence agreed, right?” Moriarty smiled.

”The Purification Mechanism won’t easily give up on Lorenzo; even if they can’t harness the power of the Pseudo Holy Grail, they won’t want us to have it, except under one circumstance.”

This was his vision; he had thought about it even before Florence.

”What if the Purification Mechanism isn’t confident in controlling Lorenzo? A Demon Hunter beginning to go mad, cold-blooded, decisive, skilled in swordsmanship, and carrying the Pseudo Holy Grail.

Lorenzo had already worked for the Purification Mechanism for some time; they knew him more fearsome than we do, but when the risks he brings outweigh the benefits, when they no longer trust each other.”

He continued speaking.

”A terrifying beast losing its shackles, then the Purification Mechanism would have no ability to end it, and they would come to us for help.”

Samuel shook his head; he could hardly believe it.

”Will it really go smoothly?”

”But didn’t you just see?” Moriarty said.

”You also saw how those people treated the mad Joey; they adhered to their iron-clad rules, which are fundamental to them...”

Recalling the earlier scene, Samuel couldn’t help but feel a chilling sensation, hard to describe, and within this atmosphere, the pouring rain became hauntingly creepy.

Joey wasn’t mad, or rather, though the nightmare still existed, it was hard to impact him anymore. Yet all this was ruthlessly dragged out and deceived by Moriarty using Authority; in an instant, Joey lost all trust, judged as mad.

It was then Samuel realized again the terrifying nature of Moriarty, promptly recalling the events from when he became a Demon Hunter.

After the Revelation was lost, the Evangelical Church lost the ability to produce Secret Blood. To establish the new Order, they found those dead Demon Hunters, chiseling open the melted Holy Silver, extracting the Secret Blood from those ruined bodies.

These Demon Hunters had been burning all their lives to fight demons; even in death, their remaining embers boiled.

The new Order was built upon the remnants of those Demon Hunters, while Samuel and other new generation Demon Hunters were selected from the Holy Hall Knight Order. They, unlike the old Order’s Demon Hunters, were not trained since childhood, and some had only limited experience battling demons.

The Holy Hall Knights’ background barely made up for these shortcomings, but Moriarty was different. He wasn’t part of the Holy Hall Knights, brought from some unknown place to become a Demon Hunter.

He had no exceptional swordsmanship; before becoming a Demon Hunter, he seemed like just an ordinary person, the kind you’d hardly notice in a crowd.

But no one could have imagined that the forbidden Secret Blood would cause such a significant transformation in one person. After becoming a Demon Hunter, mastering those bizarre Authorities, Moriarty completely changed, into someone Samuel didn’t even recognize.

”Facing Lorenzo head-on, or the Purification Mechanism, we stand no chance, but we can drive him insane, drive Lorenzo Holmes insane. Hasn’t recent news confirmed it? He has developed a self-recognition deviation, combined with the influence of the Pseudo Holy Grail, I am fully capable of achieving this.”

This is what he always intended to do; he was testing his capabilities, facing the Night of the Holy Arrival’s survivor, Moriarty wasn’t sure if Lorenzo could see through his Authority.

”A crazed Demon Hunter, one that the Purification Mechanism cannot handle, a Demonized Hunter that we need to hunt.”

Moriarty picked up a black-and-white photo lodged between the pages of a book. On it, a man sat on a dilapidated sofa by the roadside, looking utterly bored, holding half a bottle of beer, and behind him was his home at 121A Cork Street.

The invisible net had already shrouded over Old Dunling’s skies long before the Mission arrived, its powers intertwining inconclusively for various purposes, using various means.

Samuel looked at Moriarty, though they were on the same side, all he could feel was an icy chill to his core. It was hard to judge right or wrong, good or evil with the man before him, who seemed like an emotionally invulnerable monster, living for nothing but amusing entertainment in this world.