Gun of Ashes

”Please, kill me.”

The old Pope cried, crimson blood flowing from the hollows of his eye sockets.

”Why? You clearly yearned for immortality. For this, you were even unwilling to kill the ’Holy Grail’. You despised the Demon Hunters, yet desired the same eternal life... Everything comes with a price.”

The new Pope snarled through clenched teeth.

Human desires have plunged humanity into a desperate situation. The pursuit of power, the pursuit of wealth, the pursuit of immortality, all these intertwined desires eventually triggered the tragedy of the Night of the Holy Arrival.

”I was wrong, kill me...” he pleaded.

”No, no, no, it’s too late now, your Eminence, you’ve already attained immortality, you cannot die.”

The new Pope said cruelly, driving the Nail Sword through the old Pope’s body again, tugging forcefully.

”How can a person survive in such an environment? How can they endure this agony without dying?”

”The cruelest way to humiliate a Saint is to turn him into something he despises the most.” The new Pope spoke as he leaned close to the old Pope’s ear, whispering.

”Congratulations, your Eminence, you’ve become a monster.”

The old Pope’s movements froze, he slowly covered his eyes, his body trembled violently, it was unclear whether he was crying or laughing.

The new Pope stood up, raised the lamp. The light illuminated the scene behind the old Pope — an endless mass of flesh, arching high like a small mountain. Atop this mountain lay countless bodies, most already dead, a few unconscious, turned into living corpses.

This mountain of flesh fused with the ground, filling the entire bottom of the well with flesh.

[Messiah]-class containment object, the demon named Leviathan.

The new Pope stood atop history’s largest demon, birthed from the filth fallen to the bottom of the well. Over nearly a millennium, it continued to grow, occupying the entire underground.

No one knows its exact form, even to this day, it grows slowly. It’s a conglomeration of all sins, mercifully without self-awareness. Unlike ordinary demons’ bloodthirsty madness, it lacks even biological instincts, existing silently here.

Leviathan is not its specific name, but a term used in the Evangelical Church to label all large demons, although such demons have been rarely recorded in history.

”Feels good to be immortal, doesn’t it? It’s lived for a millennium, and barring accidents, you’ll be symbiotic with it until the next millennium.”

The new Pope looked at the old Pope. In the lamplight, you could see its lower half already fused with the flesh, the bottom of the well acting like a giant digestive tract, devouring the abandoned filth.

The old Pope could no longer speak, but the new Pope promptly shoved a cigarette into his mouth, lighting it for him.

”Savor it quickly; after I die, no one else will know you’re here. In your remaining long life, you’ll seldom have the chance to smoke a cigarette.”

The old Pope remained silent, unmoving as if carved from stone.

The new Pope didn’t mind, gazing at the flesh extending into the darkness, feeling a chill in his heart.

”But don’t worry, we’ll all revere you, after all, you’ve become part of it.” he said.

”The feeling of power is quite nice; when you stand at the top of the world, you also learn about more forbidden things. I could never have imagined this before — who would know this is the true Static Holy Temple? Or perhaps the Heart Core Network.”

The new Pope stomped hard on the flesh beneath his feet. This Leviathan demon was the source of it all, the [Gap] linking all Demon Hunters was it. Such a colossal and ancient body harbored countless consciousness-accommodating [Gaps].

He wasn’t sure how the Evangelical Church achieved this, but they referred to this communication system as the Heart Core Network, issuing orders via the [Gap] with the Silver Binding Bolt.

”How... do you know these things...” the old Pope slowly lifted his head, ”I clearly destroyed all that knowledge.”

”But there’s always something that’s overlooked, isn’t there?”

The new Pope lit another cigarette for himself, the flame highlighting his sinister face once again.

”The Evangelical Church is truly bizarre... even after becoming Pope and learning so many secrets, I still feel a deep sense of helplessness when facing these things.”

The old Pope remained silent while the new Pope continued.

”Lorenzo de’ Medici, I’m just here to inquire about his secrets. Based on what I’ve gathered, in his later years, his control over the Evangelical Church waned until he had to retreat into seclusion, after which you were appointed. You didn’t let your guard down, continuing to grapple with him in the shadows.”

”What is the ’Sword Scabbard Treaty’?”

The new Pope suddenly asked, but that withered figure acted as if it hadn’t heard, continuing in silence.

”It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to say, I can almost guess it anyway...”

The new Pope observed the old Pope’s reaction out of the corner of his eye and continued.

”Lorenzo de’ Medici, his excessive pursuit of power didn’t just control the Evangelical Church but also the Demon Hunting Order. Yet, he was indeed an outstanding man, a natural monarch. Under his leadership, we ushered in a golden age, one that rivaled our glorious Crusades a century ago.