Gun of Ashes

”You want... to eradicate the demons.”

042’s voice trembled slightly; for the boy, what the old man desired was so terrifying. In his understanding, even fighting against demons seemed arduous, let alone eradicating them.

”Is this your goal all along?”

Many people don’t understand what exactly Lorenzo de’ Medici wants to achieve. He never reveals his purpose to others, remaining silent, with no one knowing what is truly on his mind.

”Yes, those people in the Church are truly pathetic, extremely pathetic. Do they think I’ve failed because I’ve grown old? No, quite the opposite, I’m about to succeed.”

The old man was overjoyed, sharing with 042 everything he had envisioned. These ideas had been repressed in his mind for too long. He felt like a dancer on a stage, but the audience seats below were blank, until many years later, he met 042.

This feeling was indeed wonderful, to tell of his unknown greatness, even though the audience at this moment was just a child who didn’t understand anything.

”Do you know, 042? I didn’t become the Pope, but I became something more terrifying than the Pope. I want to end the history of demons and usher in the golden age. But I know that constantly battling like a fool is meaningless; killing one demon will result in two more appearing, they are endless... I want to kill demons at the source.”

The sweets on the small table were all eaten. The old man leisurely picked up the wine glass. Under the dim light, the liquid in the glass resembled crimson blood.

”I’ve secretly controlled the Pope and even all of Florence, scrutinizing the entire history of the Evangelical Church, attempting to find the source of the demons within the Church’s history.”

”Have you found it?”

042 was also stirred by the old man’s words; the source of the demons—if they could find the start of it all, with the skills of the old man before him, he might truly end everything.

”No, but I discovered many interesting things... History has continuity and logic, but the history of the Evangelical Church is different. In the records I’ve found, there are many contradictions and loopholes, among which a large amount of doctrines is mixed in. You can feel it too, right? There’s something wrong here.

I spent a lot of time organizing these and, from those fragmented clues, came to this conclusion: the history of the Evangelical Church has been altered.”

”Altered?”

”Yes, someone deliberately concealed something, like the origin of our Evangelical Church. No matter how much I search, our origin is full of mythology without any sense of reality. This is clear to me. The rulers don’t want the populace to know the truth, so they embellish it with religion... someone doesn’t want us to know our origin and those things they’ve deliberately hidden.”

The old man kept rubbing his fingers, as if he were polishing some invisible treasure. 042 could clearly feel, with his words, his expression oscillating between madness and reason.

”But the strange thing is, why has no one discovered these flaws? Or did they notice but fail to pass down this information?”

The old man immediately asked.

”042, you’re a smart child. Why not guess? Why is this the case?”

042 was stunned, appearing somewhat hesitant, but encouraged by the old man’s gaze, he slowly spoke.

”Eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, no matter how bizarre or absurd, is the only truth.”

”Hmm, a nice reasoning. I like it, although it sounds a bit like an extreme self-righteousness, it’s inevitable. This world has too many things that can mislead us. Sometimes, we have to become more paranoid,” the old man praised 042, ”Please continue.”

”May I?”

042 glanced at the old man before continuing with his guess.

”If someone is deliberately hiding something, from the inception of the Evangelical Church until now, if they truly exist, it should be an organization similar to ours, but even more secretive, perhaps they exist within our Evangelical Church, stationed in high-ranking positions within us, only then could they alter the records.”

042 said and began to fear; if what the old man said were true, then what do these people want? They’re all wielders of power within the Evangelical Church; what are they trying to hide?

”Indeed, initially I drew the same conclusion as yours: some damned individuals within us are making trouble. To root them out, I became a Cardinal, controlled different puppets, and gradually dismantled the entire Evangelical Church’s power, then grasped it within my hands.”

The old man also puzzled, his voice carrying a trace of incomprehension.

”The Pope became my puppet. Lawrence also, under my support, controlled the Demon Hunting Order. Families that refused to submit were destroyed by me, potential enemies were swiftly eradicated by me...

My power reached its peak; I am the shadow Pope; I am Florence, the Evangelical Church, and even the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom!”

He gripped the wine glass forcefully, the blue veins on his arm like serpents coiling around it.

”But then something strange happened. I ruled everything, yet never could find those people, as if they were nonexistent, invisible.

After that, I pondered for a long time. I felt that I wouldn’t be misled nor make a misjudgment. I was confused for a long time, yet couldn’t resolve these questions. But later, I stopped caring, turned again to continue solving the demon problem.”