Thick, roiling clouds gathered over Old Dunling. Though it was still daytime, not a single ray of light could pierce that oppressive iron curtain, dragging the entire city—and, it seemed, the entire world—into darkness.
All of Old Dunling's machinery seemed to grind to a halt that day. Howling winds and torrential rain merged into a single raging tempest, while thunder and lightning tore across the heavens. Beneath the storm, Old Dunling was swallowed by a suffocating, oppressive darkness.
Under the violent wind and rain, there was not a single living soul to be found on the streets. Even the factories that normally operated day and night had chosen to rest. The voice of the radio host came in broken fragments through the static, offering what little reassurance he could to the citizens and encouraging everyone to enjoy this unexpected holiday.
Although the apocalyptic weather hung over the city like a harbinger of the end, people were not frightened. Instead, many seemed almost delighted. During this unexpected day off, families gathered beside their fireplaces, listening to the howling wind outside while enjoying the warmth of home.
But such warmth was not something everyone could possess.
Through the torrential rain, a figure struggled forward. The storm was growing increasingly violent, like a deadly tempest descending upon the world. The vast curtain of rain created an almost suffocating sensation, as though one were drowning. Fighting against the storm, the figure finally reached the shelter of a building and escaped the icy rain for the moment.
"What a disaster..."
Merlin gasped for breath as he leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the ground. The once-mysterious alchemist was soaked from head to toe, looking utterly miserable.
Distant gunshots pierced the curtain of rain, accompanied by the faint howls of monsters. Beneath the storm, Blackmount Hospital had become a battlefield. The corruption had disrupted communications, while the rain obscured their vision. Everything was going terribly wrong, and no one could say what would happen next.
At least Merlin was temporarily safe.
After Arthur had issued his orders, both Merlin and Abigail had withdrawn in different ways, doing everything they could to preserve their remaining strength.
Although Merlin had promised Arthur that he would retreat, his method could hardly be called safe or efficient. After carrying Lloyd out of the birdcage, the somewhat sickly-looking alchemist had displayed astonishing strength. He had simply thrown Lloyd over his shoulder and run all the way out of the research district.
Perhaps it was because of the torrential rain. Perhaps it was because there were only two of them and therefore a smaller target. Whatever the reason, Merlin had unexpectedly encountered no demons along the way.
He had even thought that, given this opportunity, he might finally get to reacquaint himself with the swordsmanship he had not practiced in many years.
Still, a smooth escape was not the same as a safe one.
From the intensity of the fighting he could hear, and from the corruption that continued to spread, the battle was likely to become extraordinarily brutal. Combined with the terrible weather and the effects of the corruption, Merlin needed to leave the affected area as quickly as possible and mobilize the troops.
He looked out at the rain beyond the shelter.
The entire world seemed to have been dragged into the depths of the sea.
Blackmount Hospital was simply too large. With the rain obscuring his vision, even after running for so long, Merlin had no idea how far he was from the hospital's perimeter. And he was carrying an overweight Demon Hunter on top of everything else.
Because Lloyd carried a Binding Silver Nail within his body, his weight was far beyond that of an ordinary person. For a researcher like Merlin, carrying him was exhausting.
But it was not entirely unpleasant.
In fact, it reminded Merlin of his days as an apprentice.
Back then, he had carried no small number of precious alchemical materials on his back. The circumstances were surprisingly similar to those of today.
His teacher would remain behind, sword in hand, fighting other alchemists, while Merlin carried precious alchemical materials and ran for his life.
The more he thought about it, the more Merlin found himself smiling.
He had never imagined that he would remember those days in such a manner.
And, when he thought about it carefully, those days had actually been rather interesting.
He rested as much as he could.
Merlin was still far from safe. He needed to get Lloyd away from here as quickly as possible.
It was then that the other man lying against the wall finally showed a faint sign of movement.
Lloyd slowly opened his eyes.
Like Merlin, he was soaked through, looking like a drowned rat. His pale golden hair clung to his face as though he had just been dragged out of the sea. And judging from the bewildered sorrow in his eyes, it almost seemed as though he had jumped into that sea willingly.
"Merlin..."
Looking at the alchemist before him, Lloyd seemed confused.
He remembered being inside the birdcage. When the machine had started, he had somehow fallen into the Palace of Memory.
He looked around, unable to understand what had happened.
Why was he here?
And what had happened to the disheveled alchemist standing before him?
Lloyd was about to speak when memories surged through his mind like a flood, once again throwing his thoughts into chaos.
With the opening of the second door within the Palace of Memory, Lloyd remembered many things—things he had somehow forgotten, things that filled him with fear and confusion.
But before he had time to think about any of it, an unbearable cold spread across his body, while a tearing pain erupted inside his skull.
He looked as though he were suffering terribly.
Merlin immediately injected him with a Florend potion.
The medicine spread through his body, easing much of the pain and restoring a considerable amount of clarity to his mind.
"Merlin... I remember now. Those demons..."
After only a brief moment of disorientation, Lloyd immediately recalled the crucial information and prepared to share it with Merlin.
But the moment he began speaking, he found himself unable to continue.
Both Sherman and Lloyd Medici had mentioned a similar concept.
The concept known as the Boundary.
The Boundary was like an exquisite and mysterious birdcage, existing within the consciousness of every human being. Once someone became aware of the Boundary's existence—or discovered information concerning what lay beyond it—they would attract the strange beings known as the Silent Ones.
And those so-called Silent Ones were the sealed Grail.
The Grail Blood and the Grail Flesh both originated from these strange beings known as the Silent Ones.
Lloyd did not dare continue.
That battle within the Palace of Memory had filled him with profound terror.
But now, looking back carefully, everything had been part of Lloyd Medici's scheme.
He had intended from the beginning to confront the Silent Ones within that dry well. For that purpose, he had gathered the Shandaphon Demon Hunters and deliberately told himself about the Boundary, thereby drawing the Silent Ones toward him.
That was how he had managed to fill the entire dry well with precious Grail Blood and complete the sacred ascension.
Yet the old man had still died in the end.
As though it were some dark fate that had been determined long ago, the Silent Ones would kill him by any means necessary, no matter how much preparation he had made, no matter how desperately he had struggled against them.
Then...
What about himself?
Lloyd slowly lowered his head.
His pale face was reflected in the water pooled on the ground.
Memory could not be wrong.
He was 042.
He had always existed.
But... but...
Why had everyone called him 047?
Looking at that familiar face reflected in the water, Lloyd could not help but laugh.
Yet there was an indescribable fear and sorrow within that laughter.
He seemed to understand why.
But he did not dare think about it anymore.
So he deliberately forgot.
He refused to face it.
"Lloyd!"
Seeing the detective laughing and crying at the same time, Merlin suddenly shouted.
"Wake up! Lloyd, listen to me carefully!"
Seeing that Lloyd had awakened, Merlin did not care what the man had intended to say. Instead, he immediately prepared to reveal the results of his own research.
"Merlin... right. What happened?"
Only now did Lloyd remember how strange his current situation was.
At the same time, he could sense the corruption surrounding them.
It was oppressive and terrifying, as though he were standing in the middle of a battlefield belonging to some monstrous creature.
"Forget that for now. Listen to me carefully."
Merlin interrupted him again, forcing Lloyd to look directly at him.
Beneath those hollow eyes, Lloyd noticed something for the first time.
Emotion.
There was an extraordinary excitement there.
And something else...
Fear.
"Do you remember that demon that could generate heat?"
As though afraid Lloyd might forget, Merlin added, "The one that went out of control inside the Perpetual Motion Pump. Its temperature was so high that it nearly destroyed everything in its path."
At those words, Lloyd remembered the demon.
That strange demon.
If he remembered correctly, before its transformation, that demon had been a man named Horner.
He had participated in the attack on Salicado's banquet and had been subdued by Arthur. The Perpetual Motion Pump had intended to study him, but for some unknown reason, his demonization had suddenly accelerated during the research.
And afterward, he had become that blazing fiend.
"Horner..."
Lloyd whispered the name he had nearly forgotten.
Suddenly, he remembered that strange Gap.
If there had been certain turning points in Lloyd's mental state, then besides his death and resurrection within the Black Angel, the moment he killed Horner had also been an extremely important one.
Lloyd still remembered it all.
At the very end of his battle against that blazing fiend, Lloyd had seemingly stepped into Horner's Gap.
And there, he had killed him.
Not physically.
He had killed him on the level of the mind.
Afterward, the blazing fiend had simply died.
Its heart had not been shattered.
Its head had not been severed.
It had simply died.
After that, Lloyd's consciousness had fallen into unconsciousness, while Horner's memories flashed repeatedly through his mind.
Fortunately, as time passed, Lloyd had gradually forgotten them.
Only when someone mentioned the incident would those memories return.
"What about it?"
Lloyd asked.
The incident had happened a long time ago, and he could not understand why Merlin was bringing it up now.
There was unmistakable excitement in Merlin's voice, yet his face remained frozen in its usual deadpan expression.
"Don't you think that many of the properties of that demon... were very similar?"
"Similar to what?"
"The Authority—Michael."
Blazing white fire exploded within Lloyd's mind.
Amid the extreme heat and waves of scorching air, he seemed to see that face once again.
Ed, consumed by rage, raised his sword of blazing fire and launched his final attack against Lloyd.
Merlin gave Lloyd no time to think.
He continued speaking, more urgently than Lloyd had ever heard him speak before.
For the first time, the rational alchemist seemed almost mad.
"Lloyd, I've always had this strange sense of fear, as though I were studying something terrible. I was afraid that others might be affected by what I discovered, so I conducted my research in secret for a very long time.
"Demon Hunters gain their own Authorities after becoming demons, don't they? They become monsters that possess an Authority.
"But Horner was different.
"He was just an ordinary man. He became a demon because his inferior Mystic Blood went out of control. He had never been guided by an alchemical matrix, nor had he undergone a sufficiently stable implantation of Mystic Blood.
"And yet, when he finally lost control, what he displayed was so remarkably similar to the Authority—Michael."
Merlin continued, desperate to reveal every secret he had kept buried within his heart, as though he might die the very next second and take all those secrets with him into the grave.
"I suddenly remembered something you told me before. According to the Book of Revelation, a Demon Hunter's Authority is obtained by using an alchemical matrix to guide Mystic Blood in a specific direction, thereby granting them that supernatural dominion.
"A single Authority brings corruption during the process of guidance.
"But if multiple Authorities are guided simultaneously, the target will be directly transformed into a demon.
"Demon Hunters and demons share the same origin.
"So... does that mean Authorities share the same origin as well?"
Lloyd froze.
For an instant, another terrifying secret seemed to slowly unfold before his eyes.
A possibility no one had ever considered.
The Boundary had always restricted humanity's attempts to explore those secrets, until someone accidentally broke through its restraints.
"Based on all the types of demons our Purification Bureau has collected over the years, we can see that many of those strange demons possess characteristics that resemble the Authorities of your Demon Hunters.
"For example, the Nightmare of Illusion that traps people within hallucinations.
"Or those Devouring Grass that grow wildly like red threads.
"And now, that demon that burned out of control."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Lloyd stared at Merlin.
He was beginning to understand why Merlin had chosen to tell him all this.
The alchemist had discovered a terrifying secret.
And yet, aside from Lloyd, it seemed that no one else could bear the price of uncovering it.
"The Gap."
Merlin's voice dropped.
"Lawrence's ability to travel through the Gap... what if that is also an Authority?"
"Gabriel..."
Lloyd spoke the name softly.
An icy wind swept across their faces, as though a pair of cold, invisible hands were caressing them.
Merlin's body trembled slightly.
He did not understand.
"What did you say, Lloyd?"
"Traveling through the Gap is an Authority."
Lloyd looked at him.
"Its name is Gabriel."
"You... you remembered something?"
Lloyd nodded stiffly.
Then he reached out and placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder, warning the alchemist.
"You're right, Merlin. Knowledge is cursed. You're already reaching the Boundary. Don't go any further..."
He tried to warn the alchemist before him.
But the moment he said those words, Lloyd himself felt a surge of fear.
Yes.
This was why none of this hidden knowledge had been passed down.
Those who knew the truth were not merely hunted and killed by the Silent Ones.
They themselves had refused to pass the knowledge on.
Because it was a curse.
The more people who knew, the more people would die.
They had erased everything concerning the Boundary in order to protect those who came after them.
So...
Were those who had refused to reveal the secrets actually protecting us?
For a moment, Lloyd felt an indescribable sense of irony.
But then Merlin spoke again.
"No, no! Lloyd, listen to me!"
Merlin knew nothing about the so-called Boundary.
He stared intently at Lloyd, suppressing his emotions as he growled through clenched teeth.
"If the Authorities of Demon Hunters can all manifest through demonic bodies in specific forms—for example, the Nightmare of Illusion, or the burning demon that Horner became...
"Then what about the Authority—Gabriel?
"What kind of demon corresponds to that strange and terrifying power?"
Merlin had discovered the Boundary.
He had vaguely sensed that strange fear and oppression.
Time and again, he had wanted to pass this information on to someone else, but some instinctive terror had always held him back, as though doing so would trigger an irreversible mistake.
So he had kept it buried within himself.
Until now.
Until he could finally tell Lloyd everything.
It all originated from that sinful Mystic Blood.
From it, all the evils of the worlds had been born.
That was what Merlin truly wanted to tell Lloyd.
And Lloyd stood frozen in place.
The only thing he could hear was the roar of the storm.
His pupils contracted.
His expression became impossible to read.
Was it fear?
Or joy?
His hands trembled faintly.
Then, in a voice so quiet that Merlin could not hear it, Lloyd whispered:
"The Silent Ones..."
Everyone who knew the truth had been killed.
Those who survived feared the curse of this knowledge and refused to pass the fatal information on.
Humanity had never truly understood the state of the world.
Everyone was like livestock, bound by an invisible Boundary.
And those strange beings were its guardians, defending the Boundary from all who sought to cross it.
Remain silent.
Let silence endure.