"Lloyd Medici…"
The man slowly turned his chair toward the rain-drenched window, his eyes lingering upon the endless curtain of silver that had swallowed the world beyond. Beneath his breath, he whispered a name that seemed to have belonged to another age.
When a man lived long enough, even his own memories began to feel borrowed. The faces, the voices, the triumphs and betrayals—all of them drifted so far into the past that recalling them felt less like remembrance and more like stepping into the life of someone else.
The Plague Doctor eased the door open, leaving only a narrow crack. Curiosity flickered beneath the beaked mask. Ever since several days ago, Lawrence had been... different. Whenever he believed himself alone, he would murmur that ancient name as though speaking to a ghost.
"Plague Doctor."
Lawrence spoke without turning around, as though he had known all along someone stood beyond the door.
The Plague Doctor no longer bothered hiding himself. He pushed the door open and entered.
"What have you been muttering about?"
Had everything not continued exactly as planned, he might have suspected Lawrence had finally succumbed to madness. Then again, perhaps madness would have been the most natural outcome. After all, the man had achieved rebirth through one of the most forbidden methods imaginable.
A young, vigorous body...
After countless years of struggle, Lawrence had finally escaped the prison of decaying flesh.
"A... friend. A mentor. An enemy."
The words lingered heavily in the room. At the mention of that man, an emotion rarely seen in Lawrence clouded his eyes.
"Lloyd Medici?" the Plague Doctor asked.
He knew the name.
The legendary Cardinal Medici—the man who had ushered the Gospel Church into its Golden Age. And when he fell, that magnificent era collapsed with him, as though the sun itself had been extinguished. Few figures in the Church's history possessed such overwhelming legend, yet after his death, even his glory slowly faded into forgotten history.
Lawrence nodded, wearing an expression that was equal parts pride and relief.
"I belonged to his era. I watched his rise with my own eyes... and I witnessed his ending."
A melancholy entirely unsuited to his youthful face settled quietly across his features.
The Plague Doctor noticed something profoundly unusual.
Lawrence had always been an arrogant man. Though he wore humility like a carefully tailored robe, anyone who knew him well understood that beneath it rested the pride of one born to command.
Ever since learning the date of his own death, fear had abandoned him. Nothing in the world seemed capable of shaking his resolve.
And yet...
The mere mention of that ancient name filled him with something astonishing.
Reverence.
Not feigned respect.
Not political admiration.
But genuine, heartfelt reverence.
"But he's dead," the Plague Doctor said quietly.
On that burning night, it had not only been the old Order that perished.
The great man had died as well.
His life had been worthy of an ending sung for centuries, yet fate granted him nothing so magnificent. He had simply... died.
Then a realization struck him.
Behind the beaked mask, his eyes narrowed sharply.
Cardinal Medici's death had never been fully understood. Most believed he had fallen during the Night of Holy Descent.
And the architect of that night...
Was standing before him.
"You killed him?"
Silence stretched between them.
At last, Lawrence gave a slow nod.
The Plague Doctor froze.
His mask concealed every expression. Layers of heavy robes buried every visible reaction.
Outwardly, he remained composed.
Inwardly, something close to fear quietly took root.
He had worked alongside Lawrence for many years.
Together, two monsters had plotted unspeakable sins.
The Holy Grail's flesh...
The Book of Revelation...
Imperfect Secret Blood...
He had witnessed atrocities beyond anything his former self could have imagined. Strange as it sounded, he had even felt grateful to Lawrence at times. Without this madman, he might never have uncovered such forbidden knowledge.
Yet even now...
He realized he had seen only fragments.
The future Lawrence foresaw.
The true cause of the Night of Holy Descent.
The death of Cardinal Medici...
None of these secrets had ever truly been explained.
"He was a man capable of leading an entire age," Lawrence murmured, his voice drifting into distant memories. "In many ways... he created me."
A faint smile appeared upon his lips.
"Plague Doctor... without him, I would have died decades ago."
"He was ambitious.
This world has never lacked ambitious men.
But he was unlike anyone I have ever known.
He truly wished to build a Golden Age—one that would never end."
Beyond the window, rain continued to pour without mercy.
Countless silver threads blanketed every corner of Old Dunling, washing away the filthy air, cleansing a world stained by corruption.
"You never met him," Lawrence continued softly. "You cannot imagine how terrifying he truly was.
He was nothing more than a human.
A completely ordinary human.
Yet his will... was utterly absolute.
From the shadows, he controlled the entire Gospel Church.
Even the Pope became little more than a puppet.
But that wasn't enough.
For him...
It was never enough.
Eventually, he even extended his hand toward the Demon Hunter Order."
All of Florence had once lived beneath Medici's shadow.
Yet whenever Lawrence remembered those days, he recalled only brilliant sunlight.
"I was chosen.
I had only recently become a Demon Hunter when he secretly elevated me, making me Archbishop.
Then he shattered one of the Church's oldest laws and raised me to Cardinal as well.
From that moment onward...
Florence rested entirely within his grasp."
"You... admired him?"
The Plague Doctor found himself genuinely surprised.
That was the only emotion he could hear.
"Of course."
Lawrence smiled.
"Everything I possess today exists because of him.
Yes, I became his puppet.
But at least I survived.
I may very well be the longest-living Demon Hunter in history."
Then his smile deepened into something unreadable.
"Do you know how Demon Hunters usually meet their end?"
The Plague Doctor remained silent.
Whatever answer lay behind those words was clearly one Lawrence found amusing enough to leave unexplained.
"My feelings toward him were always... complicated.
He had already revealed his fangs while I was still a child.
Serving him never made me feel imprisoned.
Quite the opposite.
I believed I was helping build something magnificent alongside him.
Back then...
If he had asked me to die for him...
I would have done so without hesitation."
"But in the end," the Plague Doctor said quietly, "you killed him."
"Yes."
Lawrence sighed.
"Human beings are complicated creatures.
The closest companions may one day become mortal enemies for reasons neither ever expected.
Though I didn't kill him myself.
I merely sent others.
At the time, I remained within the Sanctuary of Stasis.
I had more important matters to attend."
His gaze drifted back toward the rain.
"Humans remain human, no matter how extraordinary.
Even Medici was bound by mortal flesh.
As age slowly claimed him, his control over the Church weakened.
Eventually...
He grew tired.
He abandoned every title, every office, every ounce of authority...
and disappeared into seclusion.
That was when I became free.
Everyone beneath his rule became free.
But once he vanished...
A new struggle for power began.
And naturally, I was drawn into it.
After all...
I was a Demon Hunter.
A man who possessed power...
and who had lived far too long.
My very existence frightened everyone."
He chuckled softly.
"It became the usual tale.
Power.
Conspiracy.
Bloodshed.
But...
This story held one rather unexpected twist."
"The future you saw?" the Plague Doctor asked.
"Something like that."
Lawrence nodded.
"I began looking at the world differently.
The Gospel Church.
The Demon Hunter Order.
Humanity.
Demons.
Then I discovered something... fascinating."
His voice once again carried unmistakable reverence.
"Only then did I realize something astonishing.
Even after years of seclusion...
Cardinal Medici was still controlling the Church.
It's difficult to explain.
But after his disappearance, the Golden Age collapsed with impossible speed.
No one expected it.
Then came endless struggles for authority.
The Pope regarded me as his greatest threat.
They feared the Demon Hunters.
Respected them.
Hated them.
And so...
A hidden war unfolded in darkness.
It lasted for many years.
Yet throughout it all...
Only one man remained untouched.
At first, I believed this was his revenge upon mankind.
I was wrong.
By chance, I uncovered traces of his movements.
He was still planning something."
An invisible pressure settled over the room.
The Plague Doctor felt as though some monstrous truth lay just beyond his reach.
Something ancient.
Something rotten.
Something whose very existence stank of blood.
"How fitting..." Lawrence whispered.
"How could a man like him ever accept dying inside an aging body?"
Then he suddenly asked,
"Plague Doctor...
You've never seen the Book of Revelation...
have you?"
The Plague Doctor shook his head.
Despite all these years together, Lawrence had never once revealed it.
He did not even know whether it truly resembled a book.
"Would you like to?"
Lawrence reached inside his coat.
Moments later...
A perfectly ordinary volume landed softly upon the table.
Silence swallowed the room.
The Plague Doctor stared at it.
The book was somewhat larger than average.
Its cover was a plain, dark emerald green.
No title.
No decoration.
Nothing except empty color.
"The... Book of Revelation?"
His thoughts dissolved into complete confusion.
This...
This was the object the entire world had spent centuries searching for?
It looked so ordinary.
Lawrence simply carried it with him.
"Can... can I?"
The instant he understood what the book truly was...
Something awakened.
Countless whispers blossomed beside his ears.
Deep voices.
Gentle voices.
Male.
Female.
Young.
Ancient.
Thousands upon thousands murmured at once.
Invisible hands reached toward him.
They pulled.
They beckoned.
They guided him toward the forbidden tome.
His fingers stretched forward...
Only inches remained...
Then—
They stopped.
Heavy breathing echoed beneath the beaked mask.
After a brutal struggle against himself, the Plague Doctor forced his body around and turned his back upon the book.
"Ironic, isn't it?"
Lawrence stroked the smooth cover gently.
"Before you know what it is...
it's merely another book.
The moment you understand...
its true power begins whispering to your soul."
"The greatest danger of the Book of Revelation lies in its cursed knowledge.
Many lose their minds after reading it.
Even those who survive can no longer describe what they've learned.
That is why the Gospel Church has never feared anyone stealing it."
The moment a thief realized this book's identity...
His death sentence had already been written.
Just as the Plague Doctor had nearly opened it...
So too had countless others succumbed to the temptation and perished beneath its horrors.
"You can withstand that temptation?"
The Plague Doctor found it impossible to believe.
His lifelong thirst for knowledge had vanished entirely.
He did not dare imagine what would have happened had he opened those pages.
"Barely."
Lawrence smiled.
"To face it requires a will of extraordinary strength.
As long as the words themselves cannot corrupt your mind, knowledge may still be taken from its pages.
Unfortunately...
Very few possess such resolve.
In pursuit of its secrets...
Countless members of the Gospel Church have died."
He looked toward the Plague Doctor's turned back.
"Your will is impressive.
The first time I encountered it...
I fared far worse than you.
I nearly opened it.
To save me...
Cardinal Medici cut me down with his sword.
The agony of death shattered the temptation."
The Plague Doctor slowly steadied his breathing.
Only now did he understand the monstrous thing these people had devoted their lives to pursuing.
Only now did he understand why Lawrence feared so little.
What Demon Hunter could resist opening those pages forever?
Then—
A thought struck him.
"Wait...
Cardinal Medici?"
Lawrence had seen the Book of Revelation long before betraying the Church.
And...
He had seen it together with Medici.
"Lloyd Medici..."
Lawrence's voice grew strangely hollow.
"He was the true Demon Hunter.
The only thing he lacked was Secret Blood.
He remained nothing more than a human.
A completely ordinary human.
With an utterly extraordinary will.
Plague Doctor...
I have never met another like him.
When he faced the Book of Revelation...
he felt nothing.
No temptation.
No hesitation.
Before that iron will...
its whispers became meaningless.
He simply opened the pages...
and calmly searched for the knowledge he required."
For the first time...
Fear entered Lawrence's voice.
"His will...
was no longer human."
"But he still died," the Plague Doctor answered quietly.
"And not even by your own hand."
Lawrence stared at him.
Then burst into uncontrollable laughter.
He laughed until the sound became painful.
Only then did he finally stop.
"You truly believe...
a monster like that...
could die so easily?"
A chill pierced the Plague Doctor's spine.
"Even after retreating into seclusion...
Cardinal Medici never stopped shaping Florence.
His disappearance...
was never an ending.
It was preparation.
Preparation...
for his return."
Countless scattered clues suddenly aligned.
Like storm clouds torn apart by sunlight, everything became horrifyingly clear.
"Lloyd Medici... read the Book of Revelation..."
The Plague Doctor looked at Lawrence's youthful body.
An overwhelming terror seized him.
It felt powerful enough to shatter his very soul.
"Yes..."
Lawrence whispered with absolute reverence.
"If even I could discover the hidden Authority concealed within those pages...
how could such a thing ever escape him?
Sometimes...
I even wonder whether my betrayal itself was merely another piece of his design."
Only after all these years had Lawrence finally understood.
The greatest victor of the Night of Holy Descent...
had never been himself.
It had always been—
The great Lloyd Medici.
"He's still alive...
That man...
that monster wearing a human face...
is still alive."