"Mezanso..."
"Please call me Mr. Lloyd Holmes, Lord Shelmans."
Carrying Shelmans in his arms, Lloyd sprinted wildly through the corridor. Outside the windows, fireworks erupted into the night sky, mixed with cries of agony and chaos. He was clearly panicking, yet when he spoke those words, he forced himself to maintain an absurdly solemn expression.
"This really isn't the best time for a reunion, is it?"
Lloyd looked at Shelmans and gave him a devilish, almost ridiculous smile. He had to find a way to get Shelmans out of here.
"How nostalgic..."
Shelmans spoke weakly. He had just survived a terrifying assassination attempt, yet now his blister-covered face carried a faint smile.
"What are you feeling nostalgic about?" Lloyd asked.
"After so many years, seeing an old acquaintance again… it naturally makes one feel as though they have returned to those days, doesn't it? I prayed inside the Cathedral of St. Naro, while you stood guard by my side."
Even now, he still longed to return to that place—the Cathedral of St. Naro.
Lloyd was too exhausted to comment on the old man's strange way of thinking. The man had nearly died, yet he was still talking about meaningless things. Lloyd ignored him and focused on the situation before him. The pressure was crushing.
That letter really had been a trap. It was not only Lloyd who had been searching for Shelmans; those demon hunters from the New Order had been looking for him as well.
"It was the Purification Bureau. They were the ones who revealed everything."
Shelmans suddenly spoke.
Lloyd froze for a moment and glanced to the side. That distorted, almost terrifying face looked at him with complete honesty.
"Of course, I'm not entirely certain. This world is far more chaotic than we could ever comprehend."
Shelmans continued.
For some reason, after seeing Lloyd, Shelmans suddenly felt both his body and mind relax. He could not explain this feeling. It was as if…
As if he finally had someone to entrust everything to.
"You're actually being this straightforward? I thought I would have to torture you before you were willing to say anything."
Lloyd found this sudden change impossible to accept. The dignified Cardinal, the most loyal servant of the Gospel Church—Lloyd had assumed he would need to knock out a few of Shelmans' teeth before the old man would finally speak honestly. Yet before Lloyd could even ask a question, Shelmans had already revealed everything.
"The Exile... Under the orders of Michael, I made contact with the Purification Bureau. They investigated you as well, and they were the only ones who knew I was here. But now those demon hunters have arrived. They came to kill me. Or perhaps..."
Shelmans paused.
"Perhaps the Purification Bureau reached some kind of agreement with the Gospel Church. I am their best bargaining chip."
Shelmans did not answer Lloyd's question. Instead, he simply explained the current situation, which only made Lloyd more irritated.
"Are you trying to drive a wedge between us?"
"I didn't know you belonged to the Purification Bureau now. I'm merely telling you what is happening."
Shelmans replied. At this moment, his thoughts were moving frighteningly fast.
Lloyd dragged him into a nearby room and slammed the door shut. He pulled Shelmans into the corner, hiding with him in the darkness. Before either of them could catch their breath, the blade of a folding knife pressed against Shelmans' throat.
Lloyd's expression was cold and threatening.
"Old man, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Shelmans' words had left Lloyd unable to determine his true position. It was almost as if this old cardinal was a spy Lloyd himself had planted inside the Gospel Church.
"It is simply the optimal choice under the current circumstances. The only way out of here is the railway several kilometers away. But the road from this manor to the railway is nothing but open fields. You might escape, but taking me with you is almost impossible. Therefore, I must die here."
"You still have a chance to survive."
"Be captured by the new Pope?"
Shelmans smiled faintly.
"I would rather die."
Death was supposed to be heavy, suffocating, and terrifying.
Yet when it came from Shelmans' mouth, it sounded strangely effortless.
"Regardless of who they truly are or who commands them, their target must be me. I am already doomed. But you still have a chance to escape."
For a moment, Lloyd felt that his thoughts could no longer keep up with the old man before him. It was as if, in some brief instant, Shelmans had already calculated every possible outcome that would follow.
"You're not working with them. Then how did you know I was here? And if you came looking for me, what exactly was your purpose?"
Shelmans stared at Lloyd and let out a hoarse laugh.
The blisters on his face burst open, and pale yellow fluid flowed down his withered skin. His face looked like that of a corpse soaked for years in muddy water.
This old man had already planned everything.
Yet when Lloyd finally asked his question, Shelmans merely leaned back and slowly spoke.
"But regardless of what purpose brought you here, I will satisfy your request. Ask quickly, child. We do not have much time left."
As he spoke, Shelmans leaned against the wall. His state of mind was strangely calm. After witnessing that forbidden knowledge, he no longer possessed any fear. Countless demon hunters were searching for him outside, countless enemies wanted him dead, yet after seeing Lloyd, everything seemed to have settled.
Lloyd stared at him in confusion.
The wounded old man leaned against the wall, took out his finely crafted flintlock pistol, then pulled gunpowder and lead bullets from his pocket, clumsily loading the weapon.
"Was I being too enthusiastic?" Shelmans murmured. "Indeed… ever since escaping from Florence, I rarely felt this... happy?"
His voice carried hesitation. Even he was uncertain about what emotion he was experiencing.
Shelmans looked at Lloyd. His own obedience had clearly made Lloyd uneasy.
"Do not worry. It is merely a matter of weighing the advantages and disadvantages. Compared to those new Pope's hounds, I trust you more, 047..."
He paused.
"No. Mr. Lloyd Holmes."
The folding knife pierced into the wall behind him.
Lloyd lowered himself, moving closer to Shelmans, staring directly into those cloudy eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. You are a demon hunter of the old order, a survivor of the Night of Ascension. You and I are the same, at least in part. Although we stand on different sides, compared to being captured or killed by the new Pope, I would rather die by your hand."
Shelmans smiled faintly.
"You hunt monsters. You defend the sacred. We may not share the same beliefs, but we fight for the same god."
"I don't like that god."
"But at least your actions are genuine."
Shelmans spoke calmly. Facing death, he suddenly felt no fear at all. He even laughed. That miserable smile left Lloyd utterly confused.
He had never expected Shelmans' thoughts to be like this.
The old man knew he was going to die.
But there was one thing he refused to accept.
He refused to die because of the new Pope.
"Besides, the extermination decree has not ended yet. And you are also a survivor of the Night of Ascension. Although I do not know how you survived..."
Shelmans did not know the truth behind that night. He continued.
"The new Pope will not let you live either."
"So you intend to help me because of this? You will answer every question without hesitation simply because the more you help me, the greater trouble I become for the new Pope, correct?"
Lloyd could never have imagined that Shelmans' true motivation was this.
At this moment, the old man was like someone already dead. Every action, every thought, was built upon the assumption that his own death was inevitable.
"Of course, child."
This was Shelmans' open scheme.
As a powerless old man, this was the only form of resistance he could offer against that heresy.
He clutched the notebook in his arms while speaking with Lloyd, his gaze constantly sweeping through the shadows of the room.
Shelmans was already doomed.
He had touched the unknown boundary, and that unknown boundary had touched him in return.
Something like a ghost was watching him.
"You..."
Lloyd had never encountered a situation like this before.
It felt like a terrible stage play where everyone was rushing through the script, eager to reach the ending where they would all die.
But before he could finish his question, a sharp nail sword tore through the door.
The demon hunters had broken in.
"Run, old bastard!"
Lloyd shouted.
They could not afford to become entangled with the demon hunters. Once reinforcements arrived, even Lloyd would not be able to withstand them.
Shelmans obeyed without hesitation.
At this moment, helping Lloyd meant opposing the new Pope.
With great effort, he pushed himself up and fled toward the corridor behind Lloyd.
Lloyd, meanwhile, charged directly toward the demon hunters.
Only two enemies had arrived. Judging from their appearance, they had likely been drawn here by the blazing fire.
The New Order and the Old Order...
For some reason, Lloyd suddenly laughed.
Although he had always carried hatred toward the Gospel Church, he still missed the days when he belonged there—the days when he fought alongside other demon hunters.
Demon hunters were destined to be forgotten by history.
Yet Lloyd had always believed that he was part of something glorious.
Back then, he and everyone else believed the same thing.
Everything they did was not merely for that ridiculous god, but for humanity itself, for a world governed by reason.
They walked through darkness, yet carried glory upon their shoulders.
Then what about you?
You successors of the new era...
Do you truly deserve the name of demon hunter?