"Many years ago, this was where we began the Ranger Project. When it failed, it led to the creation of the Florend Potion. The neural-link technology used in the Divine Armor was also developed here…"
Abigail spoke softly, her gaze passing through the yellowed glass toward the experimental platform that resembled an arena.
A mechanical chair, much like an electric chair, stood upright upon a steel dais. At its center, machinery and pipes spread outward like creeping vines, cables wound among them, while faint wisps of steam escaped through the gaps.
The emblem of Black Mountain Hospital was engraved upon the iron wall above the chair. A lancet piercing through a human brain seemed almost ready to break free from the confines of the flat surface and impale whoever sat upon the chair.
They usually called this place the Birdcage.
The subject of an experiment would be strapped into the chair while those behind the railings watched.
"It's exactly as I remember it. You haven't used it all these years?"
Merlin approached from behind, looking over the place with a trace of nostalgia.
"After the professor died… or, more precisely, after that incident, it was never used again," Abigail replied. "There was no reason for us to use it anyway."
"Ah… those were the days." Merlin gently brushed his fingers across the steel surface. "Back then, the Perpetual Motion Pump and Black Mountain Hospital worked closely together. Nothing like the way we operate independently now."
"The failure of the Ranger Project proved how different we really were. Black Mountain Hospital sought to push the human mind to its absolute limits, while all you people at the Perpetual Motion Pump wanted was machinery. Bigger and bigger machines, explosives with greater and greater destructive power."
"But there was no helping it…" Merlin sighed.
"That incident changed many people. It was also what drove Arthur to make his decision," Merlin said, his thoughts drifting back into the distant past. "Arthur had already lost many of his children by then, yet he was still a passionate man, the sort who seemed impossible to bring down. That was, at least, until the demons came for him."
"Lloyd often told me about that. The more contact you have with demons, the more darkness you become tainted with. And the clearer you become in the eyes of those creatures. That allows those aberrations to find you. I suppose that explains why the demons were able to find Arthur back then."
Abigail frowned. "What exactly happened? I only know the general outline. I wasn't the head of the hospital then. I was still a student."
Merlin hesitated. He seemed about to say something, then thought better of it. The entire laboratory was silent. Only the restless hum of the ventilation fans remained, drawing the stale air from the chamber.
"What else could have happened? Just another cliché of a story."
At last, Merlin began to speak.
"The Ranger Project was originally an attempt to recreate the Witch Hunters' secret blood. But we took an entirely different path, one devoted to strengthening the mind… Looking back now, I think I understand why Queen Victoria agreed to such a dangerous project. She must have intended to use the results of the Ranger Project to find a way to break the Royal Curse.
"After we acquired the Divine Armor technology, Arthur became one of the final Rangers. Around that time, because of his battles against the demons, he was discovered by them. Swarms of demons descended upon Phoenix Manor, and Arthur's pregnant wife was wounded in the attack."
"That was what changed Arthur?" Abigail asked.
"More or less. It was only after that incident that we discovered another property of the demons. But there were too few cases to draw any conclusions. It wasn't until we encountered Lloyd, and he confirmed our suspicions, that we established the connection between the demons and the darkness…"
"Like a moth chasing after a flame."
Merlin continued to reminisce about events from long ago.
"Arthur believed that his own actions had caused his family to be hurt. He remembered the children he had already lost, and came to believe that all of it was his fault—that everything stemmed from him, and from the demons. After that, he became the man you see today. He developed an intense hatred of demons, and an almost pathological need to protect his final child, Eve Phoenix."
"Then what exactly is wrong with Eve Phoenix? Some of her readings during the examinations over the past few days are… abnormal."
Abigail looked doubtful. She was no longer wearing the heavy protective suit. Her gaze rested unabashedly upon Merlin's hollow, pitch-black eyes.
It should have been an ordinary case of demonic contamination, yet Abigail had detected countless strange abnormalities in Eve.
"According to her readings… Eve was also a product of the Ranger Project? But wasn't Arthur the last Ranger?"
The timeline simply did not make sense. Suspicion began to take root in Abigail's mind.
"Ah… that's precisely what I was about to tell you. Be patient," Merlin said leisurely.
"When Phoenix Manor was attacked, Arthur's wife was not only wounded by the demons. She was contaminated as well. And at the time, she was carrying Eve.
"Her injuries were severe, but with the technology we possessed, they were entirely treatable. Her psychological examination also confirmed that the contamination was still in its first stage. She could have been cured.
"But what about Eve?"
Merlin slowly turned his head.
Looking into those hollow eyes, Abigail suddenly felt an unbearable chill, as though some strange and sinister soul lurked beneath that ageless shell.
"The contamination had not affected only the mother. It had reached the child inside her as well."
"You could examine and treat the mother, but Eve was still an unborn child. There was nothing you could do for her."
"Exactly. That was the situation we faced. It was a terrible dilemma. We had never encountered anything like it before. But according to our calculations, the child had not yet developed a mature consciousness. There was a very high probability that the contamination would alter her and turn her into a demon."
Merlin's voice remained calm.
"So at the time, we seemed to have only one choice."
"Kill the child."
"But Eve survived."
"Yes. Arthur refused absolutely. After everything he had endured, his mental state had already become somewhat… unstable. While we remained locked in that stalemate, the director of the Perpetual Motion Pump at the time—my predecessor—made a decision.
"He decided to conduct an experiment on Arthur's wife. To use the final legacy of the Ranger Project, before it was sealed away, and see if we could make a miracle happen."
There was a faint tremor in Merlin's otherwise emotionless voice. Abigail could not tell whether it was fear or astonishment.
"Arthur had no right to choose. He could only accept. Otherwise, Eve would be forcibly killed. Or worse, she might have become one of our specimens. Arthur did not possess nearly as much power back then as he does today.
"We injected Mrs. Phoenix with the Ranger serum and performed several surgical procedures. She would serve as the vessel, passing the serum on to the fetus within her."
"That's impossible…" Abigail whispered, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Of course it was impossible. That was one of the reasons the Ranger Project was sealed away in the first place—the serum ravaged its users. Even Arthur could die if he made a single mistake. And an ordinary woman who had never undergone any of it…"
Merlin's voice gradually sank lower.
Then, suddenly, that low voice thundered through the chamber.
"But isn't that what makes humanity what it is? We always seem to create miracles. Perhaps it is precisely because we can create those impossible 'miracles' that we are called human.
"She was locked inside a specially designed ward, with Geiger counters covering every corner of the room. The slightest abnormality would mean the death of the child inside her.
"Yet several months later, she gave birth to Eve.
"A perfectly healthy child.
"The serum had been administered to her before birth, while she was still inside her mother. And afterward, she was born successfully into this world.
"Do you understand what kind of taboo that was?
"Even when conducting experiments, we could scarcely bring ourselves to cross such a boundary under the weight of so-called ethics and morality. Yet somehow, it succeeded.
"But when Eve was born, it was as though she had drained the very life from her mother. Her mother died a few years later.
"That was hardly surprising. The Ranger serum was never something everyone could survive. The fact that she managed to give birth to Eve at all…"
Merlin paused.
"…was already a miracle."
"Then was Eve stable afterward? If this method of injection could create stable Rangers…"
Abigail's expression grew excited. Such a forbidden experiment could open an entirely new door.
"Abigail!"
Merlin's voice cracked like a whip, dragging her out of her fevered fantasy.
"This violates the very boundaries of ethics and morality. The Cleaners would never allow it," Merlin said. "And even now, I still believe Eve's survival was an exception. An exception that cannot be replicated."
He looked toward the ancient machinery.
"It was a miracle."
"I see…" Abigail said. "But if you're telling me all of this, then this story must be connected to what we're about to do, isn't it?"
This was a story sealed away inside classified archives. Unless there were a reason, Merlin would never have told her so much.
Merlin nodded.
"Actually, there were many unanswered questions surrounding that incident. For example, why was anyone willing to authorize such an experiment?
"But I understand now.
"Queen Victoria gave her silent approval.
"That is also why I was delayed for so long. I received a direct order from Her Majesty herself."
"What does she intend to do?"
"Repeat what we did back then. Only this time, the substance we inject will be the secret blood.
"Through this form of prenatal experimentation, she intends to escape the Royal Curse.
"But don't worry. Once we achieve preliminary success, we will conduct the actual experiments directly on members of the royal family. Ordinary people will not be involved."
Merlin spoke of the horrifying plan with an almost casual calm.
"So she has been planning all of this for many years?" Abigail asked.
"More or less…"
Merlin sighed.
"She has been bound by the Royal Curse for far too long. So long that she no longer even expects to escape it herself.
"She intends to sever the curse in this generation.
"That is also what has brought us to the situation we face today."
He looked toward Abigail.
"This is the first cooperation between the Perpetual Motion Pump and Black Mountain Hospital since that time."
Merlin extended a hand.
"May our cooperation be a pleasant one."
For a brief moment, silence settled over the chamber.
Then came the sound of wheels rolling across the floor, echoing through the stillness of the Birdcage.
...
Lloyd raised his head.
The lights overhead passed one after another, while the irritating hum of the ventilation fan buzzed beside his ears.
"I can walk by myself, you know."
He lifted his head, trying to look at the man pushing his wheelchair.
"We're already here. Just behave yourself, Lloyd."
Arthur kept his eyes fixed ahead.
The corridor seemed impossibly long. Within that endless stretch of sterile passageway, there was nothing but the monotonous sound of the two men moving forward.
"The New Church cannot be trusted, Arthur."
Lloyd finally broke the silence.
"I know."
"I didn't lose control."
"I know."
"…"
"You… Arthur. What exactly is wrong with you?"
The mechanical replies unsettled Lloyd. He asked again, but at that moment Arthur suddenly stopped.
He stood motionless in the corridor, his eyes still fixed ahead.
"You think I'm contradicting myself, don't you?" Arthur said. "I know it's a trap. I know they're our enemies. And yet, in the end, I still made this decision."
"Do you still believe the New Church's intelligence?"
Arthur gave a stiff nod. Whether from exhaustion or something else, his eyes looked strangely vacant.
"Lloyd, sometimes I think humanity is like a lonely man walking through a dark night.
"We have to believe in something in order to keep living.
"And sometimes, whether the thing we believe in is actually true doesn't matter anymore.
"You're the same, aren't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
Lloyd sensed that something was wrong with Arthur.
Arthur merely smiled.
"I just came across some old records and started thinking about those painful things again.
"When I look back now, I realize that everything we're doing is nothing more than repeating what happened back then.
"It was the same when I first became involved in all of this.
"It's a terrible problem. As the demons spread, humanity's sanity hangs by a thread.
"And the only solution we have is to kill them all.
"Lloyd, do you believe that?
"Do you believe killing every demon will finally put an end to all of this?"
Lloyd fell silent.
The more he uncovered about the past, the more he realized that the demons were far more complicated than they appeared.
But Arthur did not give him a chance to answer.
"There's no other way. We can only believe.
"That's the only way we can release all the hatred and fury the demons have brought upon us.
"Like the only light in a dark night, we have no choice but to walk toward it.
"We can only believe.
"Even if there are deeper mysteries and countless flaws hidden behind it all…"
Arthur began pushing the wheelchair again.
"We can only believe."
He continued forward, his voice low.
"I made that kind of decision many years ago.
"My wife and daughter were dying. The only way to save them was forbidden and absurd.
"But I could only believe it was the only way.
"Looking back, perhaps I was running away from reality. I never stopped to think about what would happen if we failed.
"By then, I was already close to madness.
"I simply needed something to deceive myself with, something that would let me keep moving forward.
"Fortunately…"
Arthur smiled faintly.
"…it worked."
"Just like the New Church.
"I know they're plotting something. But with our understanding of the world already having reached its limits, I can only believe them.
"Don't blame me, Lloyd.
"If you were in my position, I believe you would make the same choice.
"Just like the anger that has driven you all this time.
"You believe exterminating the demons will allow you to take revenge.
"You believe exterminating the demons will finally bring all of this to an end.
"You believe that if the demons are eradicated, your suffering will finally stop.
"But none of that was ever promised to you.
"No one ever told you that destroying the demons would end everything.
"You imagined it all yourself.
"You deceived yourself with those beliefs simply because you needed a reason to keep moving forward."
Arthur's voice echoed through the empty corridor.
Far ahead, a faint light appeared.
"This world is utterly fucked."
Lloyd's voice was quiet.
"Yeah…"
Arthur paused.
"But…"
He never finished the sentence.
Instead, Lloyd suddenly felt something cold.
The sensation traveled down his wrist.
He tried moving his restrained arm, and a faint sting ran through it.
"Arthur…"
"Shh…"
Arthur covered Lloyd's mouth and leaned close to his ear.
"She's restarting the Ranger Project.
"No one is absolutely worthy of trust.
"Not even her.
"Many years ago, it was because of her orders that Eve survived. But now, in order to free herself from the Royal Curse, I cannot guarantee what she will be willing to do to Eve.
"That feeling back then was truly unbearable.
"I could do nothing.
"But things are different now.
"So let me use you one more time, Lloyd.
"If our next enemy is the New Church, destroy the New Church.
"If they're Lawrence's remaining forces, wipe them out completely.
"But if the enemy comes under the Queen's orders…"
Arthur's voice dropped to a whisper.
"…take Eve and leave."
Lloyd remained silent.
He subtly twisted his wrist, adjusting the scalpel Arthur had slipped into his sleeve until it rested at precisely the right angle.
The corridor finally came to an end.
Arthur pushed Lloyd into the Birdcage, then turned and walked away without looking back.
And then—
A faint sound emerged from behind him.
Almost like laughter.
"You don't really think I've lost, do you, Arthur?"
Lloyd watched Arthur disappear, a strange smile curling across his face.
...
The rain was exceptionally heavy that day.
Thick black clouds blotted out the sky, and the darkness was so oppressive that the streetlamps had been switched on despite it still being daytime.
Wind and rain hurled leaves and debris through the streets, hammering everything beneath their reach.
Even the parked carriage rocked violently in the storm.
Inside, the girl glanced out the window, then turned toward the old man sitting across from her.
"So Lloyd told us to wait here for someone?" Celius asked.
Several days earlier, she had suddenly received a letter from Lloyd. But when she went looking for him, he had mysteriously vanished together with his roommate.
"That's what my letter said, anyway."
Oscar stared out at the hellish weather, his tone growing increasingly uncertain.
He had no idea what Lloyd was planning.
Suddenly, the carriage door flew open.
A drenched black figure stumbled inside, cursing beneath his breath as he climbed aboard.
"Damn, why is the rain this heavy?! Little darling, are you all right?"
He muttered the words, only to find two pistols immediately pressed against his head.
In the cramped carriage, the atmosphere became rather awkward.
"Given your strength, I recommend you use this one."
Oscar handed Celius a smaller pistol.
A moment later, the man found himself staring down the barrels of one large and one small handgun.
His expression became painfully awkward.
Then he cautiously asked,
"Um… Celius Stuart? Oscar Wilde?"
He seemed to be checking their identities.
Oscar, meanwhile, found something strangely familiar about the drenched man standing before him.
"Ah! So you're the friends Lloyd mentioned in his letter!"
"The friends?"
Celius stared at him as though he were some kind of lunatic.
But the man quickly straightened up and became serious.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Hercule Christie."
He gestured toward the corner.
"And this is Poirot."
With Hercule's introduction, a large rat suddenly leapt from the shadows.
One man and one rat.
To Celius, the combination was almost absurdly bizarre.
"Oh, Lloyd really is a troublesome fellow. Leaving so many things for us to deal with…"
Hercule vigorously combed through his rain-soaked handlebar mustache, then broke into a cheerful smile.
"Though I suppose this is the optimal solution. After all, he's drawn everyone's attention to himself, giving us the opportunity to make our plans in secret…"
He spread his arms theatrically.
"So!"
"Let us begin the script of Lloyd Holmes."
"The protagonist has taken the stage."
"The curtain rises!"
"The music begins!"
He suddenly paused.
"Wait…"
Hercule looked toward the others.
"You supporting characters should be ready, shouldn't you?"