Chapter 88: Speculation (Part 2)
“… So, you fell into a state of oblivion ‘dream’ while in the Royal City. In that dream, it showed you fragments of your past memories?”
After my long and disjointed explanation, Angel finally understood what I was trying to say. He stood up, gazing thoughtfully at the now non-wriggling lump of flesh on the floor, stroking his chin in deep contemplation.
“Hospital room, bl**d therapy, vessels, black cloak… that humanoid Abyss was once acquainted with you. You both stayed in the same place, and it wanted you to remember it… and the experiments that took place there seemed to be a step further…”
I looked at Angel, prompting him, “Did you know it would turn out like this?”
“Hmm? What?” The guy seemed a bit confused.
I pointed at the lump of meat, “That thing will move.”
“No, I didn’t know.” The blonde man shook his head lightly. “That was merely my guess, but it seems almost like a foregone conclusion now…”
He seemed like he wanted to say more, but then suddenly stopped mid-sentence, furrowing his attractive brows, his eyelids flickering rapidly as he returned to deep thought.
I didn’t want to interrupt him, so I waited quietly, but after a moment, I couldn’t resist taking another look at the lump of flesh.
… It wasn’t moving now.
But it clearly wasn’t dead, as the veins on the lump still pulsed, like a swarm of massive tapeworms clinging to it.
So gross…
Was it really residing in a heretic’s body?
So gross…
My scalp was still tingling like a thousand needles stabbing me, and the goosebumps on my arms were piling on like layers upon layers. My body felt stiff, my head buzzing like a swarm of bees, amusement completely stripped away by a wave of disgust and rejection that hadn’t faded since earlier. I simply couldn’t think straight anymore, my mind only occupied by something I absolutely dared not ponder but couldn’t escape from ignoring.
I saw this in the dream…
That eerie dream, assuming Irush really crafted a replica of the “clinic” we once stayed at based on her own memories, and everything she saw and experienced… No, there’s no assumption; it must be true…
So that means—
“Little Black Charcoal, let’s sort this whole thing out from beginning to end.”
It wasn’t long before Angel turned to look at me again.
His usual laid-back attitude was nowhere to be seen, replaced with a serious and solemn demeanor reflected in his deep azure eyes.
“Uh-huh…”
I distractedly nodded.
“A year ago, the Church discovered a cave near the chasm in the western part of Woodward Forest, where the Gate of Truth was used for experiments. In that cave, they found their research results… a few bl**d-red pills.”
Angel lowered his head, organizing his thoughts as he spoke steadily and slowly.
“As for the components of the bl**d pills, let’s set that aside for now. Assuming the heretics envisioned their effects as granting ordinary people some god-like powers… they wanted to defeat the Church, driven by their foolish and blind grand ideals, and fell into madness. But this impractical goal required a massive amount of manpower and financial resources…”
“Uh-huh, their solution was to infiltrate the Western Continent over the years, stirring up some blind followers to become new disciples of the Gate of Truth. And the coins… I suspect those large shipments of Lotus Seed Grass transported from Silgaya to the Eastern Continent must be a vital supply line.”
“Back when you were in the Valen Empire, you encountered a batch of people… I saw Carlos’s report. It mentioned that one of them was a second-stage heretic who unexpectedly ascended to the third stage during a fight with you due to some unknown reason, possessing enough power to match that of ‘bl**d Sacrifice’ for a short period before dying shortly after, right?”
“Yep.”
I nodded again.
Valar and that Golden Mask were ultimately not killed by me; the raging Infernal Fire burned away their bl**d and life. They perished due to their thirst for power and desire.
“Did you see him eat anything back then?”
“… No.”
I thought for a moment and realized I hadn’t seen anything.
Angel pondered for a moment.
“But what if he had eaten something before that… like the finished product of the bl**d pills?” He tapped his cheek with his finger, continuing his speculation. “I suspect they might already have a finished product since a year has passed. They may have made progress in their experiments, and that stuff indeed has effects…”
“Yet it’s still in the experimental phase. The heretics had started to continue experimenting internally, letting a small group of heretics take it… and as a result, you saw someone possessing the third-stage Infernal Fire power in a short time.”
The blonde man glanced at the lump of meat again and continued, “As for that corpse, it was later wrapped up and stored in the Underground Prison of Winter City on the orders of Bishop Hobbs. Chris examined it carefully and found nothing unusual. I didn’t pay much attention to the report afterward. In hindsight… it seems something else was going on.”
“My speculation is that it might be from the initial batch who ingested the experimental product… Clearly, the effects weren’t very ideal, and the heretics weren’t discouraged. They continued those experiments over the past year, and now it seems they have new results.”
“New… results?” I rubbed my temples, frowning.
“What you’re looking at is this lump of flesh.”
“……”
So they’re letting this thing reside within them…
Could even Teresa be like this!
I stared at the mass of flesh on the ground, feeling a wave of revulsion wash over me again, sending chills down my spine and making me feel like throwing up.
“It seems they’ve achieved significant success in certain areas.”
Angel was also looking at the lump of flesh, his tone somber. “Based on this battle, the reason the Church didn’t dispatch the First Knights Order immediately to respond was due to the internal underestimation of this threat. Many people… myself included, saw the Gate of Truth as a mere bunch of desperate rogues akin to bandits.”
“Historically, there have indeed been several members of the Gate of Truth that the Church had to be wary of—Rothschild, Amir… but including the chief demon, they’ve almost all perished in the conflicts twenty-one years ago. That was the Sword Saint Old Man’s greatest battle, considered by the Church as the ‘Purging of Demons’.”
“Twenty years later, even if new members appeared, they would only be one or two at most, hardly worth worrying about… Besides, the Gate of Truth wouldn’t throw all their strength into one battle; they must have other objectives… that was our initial assessment.”
“But the fact now is that there are ten third-stage members among the heretics. That’s something none of us anticipated, a situation that simply shouldn’t occur. If the third stage could truly manifest so freely, a single battle could produce ten such individuals, then the Church would have lost hundreds of years ago… I heard Isaac’s report, and he mentioned that this time’s third stage doesn’t seem as strong as we remembered, right?”
“Uh-huh…”
“Why is that?”
—Because they too are merely experimental subjects.
These people also ingested some kind of medication, allowing that disgusting lump of flesh to reside within them, granting them enough Infernal Fire power to rival the ‘bl**d Sacrifice’ level, yet not as robust as a true third-stage member, possibly with other limitations…
But at least, they possess a terrifying recovery ability.
The heretics’ experiments were closing in on success…
“Angel…”
My throat felt a bit hoarse as I coughed lightly.
“What’s wrong?” The Pope seemed to sense my unusual emotions and asked immediately.
“……”
I pouted slightly.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
The man’s expression suddenly softened. After thinking for a moment, he reached out to pat my shoulders.
“What? Is this topic making you a bit uncomfortable? Don’t want to look at this lump of meat? Is it because of that dream? Or did you recall something unpleasant… never mind, don’t think too much about it.”
As he spoke, his index finger pointed at the lump of meat.
Buzz—
The tremor of a miracle hummed in my ears, dazzling golden light burst forth, and the lump of flesh vanished from my sight amidst the brilliant glow.
“All done, I used reverse imagery to block it out. Although it’s still there… out of sight, out of mind, right? Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”
His gaze softened too.
He bent down to look at me, the hem of his golden robe brushing his knees, the grand cape cascading gracefully down the side of his robe, the little cross on his chest glowing faintly. In the dimly lit tent after the fire had waned, his starry-eyed gaze and sharply defined features looked clear and warm in my eyes.
He had never shown such a proper side before; for a moment, I felt… this guy seemed reliable and trustworthy.
“Angel…”
The words I had been thinking since earlier, which I didn’t dare to ask, finally poured out.
“Is there… that disgusting thing, in my body too?”
Even though I knew asking him might be futile.
But saying it out loud would ease my heart a little.
If that thing really was in my body, I’d be willing to ask Angel to get someone to cut open my chest and remove that revolting lump of flesh…
“I believe not.”
The Pope looked at me.
After a moment, he broke into a smile.
“Really, I thought you recalled something… you little fool, your worries are unnecessary. I told you, your body is now a ‘Reliquary’… Let’s be clear, I’m not insulting you. You’re an excellent medium, better than dragon bones. Your Infernal Fire power draws from the strength of the Divine Reliquary, the purest divine power. It isn’t something that disgusting lump of flesh can grant you. Just think about the previous power difference, and you’ll understand.”
“But—”
I took a shallow breath.
But I’ve eaten that bl**d-red pill…
“You’re just a nothing; you’re not even human.” Angel rolled his eyes.
“You, you’re insulting me!”
“I’m not insulting you.”
“Angel, you—”
I was stumped, unable to find a reason to retort.
Angel was right…
I was from the Abyss, after all.
… But the reason I became part of the Abyss was because I ate that bl**d pill!
Angel seemed to understand what I was thinking and immediately said, “Given the current situation, the research direction of the Gate of Truth has at least two paths: the Infernal Fire power and the Chaotic Power.”
“That bl**d pill might not even be related to this lump of flesh. It may have attempted to lead humans toward mastering the Chaotic Power in another direction, but in that area, they obviously think they’ve failed… Those fools clearly don’t dare to meddle with the Chaotic Power that can annihilate everything. They might have already paid the price, and thus shifted to a new direction, ending up with these ten third-stage heretics… oh, now it’s down to nine.”
“And your Infernal Fire power stems from the Divine Reliquary, the closest power to the deity. It’s not because of that damned experiment that you possess Infernal Fire power. Your Chaotic Power, when unleashed, could turn that disgusting lump of flesh to ash in an instant.”
He extended his hand and tapped my forehead.
“Got it?”
