Gun of Ashes

Crusade! Crusade! Crusade!

"Truly... truly terrifying..."

The priest sighed, merely listening to the Pope's account, he could feel that moment of madness, faith torn apart by greedy desire, no one could remain untouched.

"Subsequently, undercurrents surged within the Church, two factions of cardinals were at each other's throats, this is the first time in hundreds of years we've come close to a split. Truly worthy of the Holy Grail, isn't it? Even when captured, it resonates with such effects, as if destined by fate."

"In the end, the Pope made a decision to support the War Faction... In fact, his decision was correct, Ingwig won the Radiant War, the terrifying power of the steam engine is evident, and this technology also reached Jiuxia of the Far East, both empires are slowly rising. Now abandoning the power of demons might fulfill God's mission, but this is also God's last radiance, we simply can't stand against the current."

The light beneath their feet gradually became clearer, as if they had reached the molten heart of the earth.

"Sometimes it's also helpless, you get what you want, yet fate plays a joke on you.

Subsequently, the project for the militarization of demons was put on the agenda, but humans are truly too greedy, they not only crave the power like that of demon hunters, they need even stronger power... the power of the Holy Grail."

Long ignored memories resurfaced, the priest remained silent for a long time, under the Pope's words, even the most steadfast believer would be shaken.

"If it were you, what would you do?"

He suddenly asked in return.

The voice beneath the iron mask hesitated slightly, then laughed.

"I might promise them, conquer the world first, then forsake the power of demons... but in reality, we all know that thing has magic power, once you use it for the first time, you're entangled by destined fate, there's no such thing as letting go, no one would let go..."

It's a sword of unparalleled sharpness, as long as you wield it, you are the ruler of the world, no one can refuse such temptation, no one.

The elevator suddenly halted, interrupting the conversation, followed by the slow opening of the metal folding door, bringing forth a rush of corroding air.

The priest looked at the world outside the door, it was a massive palace, the curved dome hidden in the depths of darkness overhead, grotesque and bizarre sculptures filled the vision, but most were dilapidated, the ground littered with rubble, with traces resembling bloodstains among them.

Yet within this enclosed underground palace, occasional breezes would stir, as if the entire palace was some living entity, breathing faintly, while gray-robed monks stood within, silently working, everything so still, even the sound of breathing vanished, as if any abrupt noise would awaken some slumbering monster.

This was the Static Holy Temple, headquarters of the Demon Hunting Order, located in the depths beneath the Saint Nalos Cathedral, originally an underground cavern, connected via underground rivers to reach the surface Tiber River, later transformed into an underground military fortress.

"This place was originally established as the 'Final Holy Land,' envisioned as a refuge and base for counterattacking demons if the Seven Hills fell. It holds years' worth of supplies, and with Secret Blood manufacturing equipment here, as long as we're not all dead, we can produce a continuous supply of demon hunters."

"But won't they go out of control?"

The priest asked, the greatest risk of demon hunters was losing control, for this the Church developed the Silver Binding Bolt as a countermeasure, but in such circumstances, how could the craftsmanship of the Silver Binding Bolt suffice?

"Fr. Anthony, you still don't understand its significance, do you? You know, the Silver Binding Bolt has a final battle mode, once the Pope orders its activation, the Silver Binding Bolt won't be destroyed by the demonization of demon hunters... when pushed to the brink, who would care about losing control?"

"Unfortunately, no one anticipated the nightmare would erupt from this final battle ground, within the Static Holy Temple."

The two walked on the rubble-laden ground, the rubble being remnants of sculptures, as they advanced the priest saw more clearly the grand structures in the darkness, but most were already collapsed, as if monsters had fought here long ago, destroying this underground kingdom.

"The previous Pope was a waste, isolated after his decision, at the time, the War Faction wielded the power, their operatives infiltrated every industry, without their approval, the Pope couldn't even leave the Saint Nalos Cathedral."

"The entire Church became a machine for the War Faction, and then they performed that forbidden ritual again... Secret Blood originates from demons, varying in strength with different demons, the refined Secret Blood differed too."

He paused, looking at the priest, they both knew what had transpired at that moment.

"They usurped the power of the Holy Grail, stole its blood for refinement."

Truly a blasphemous act, an invisible hand tightened around the throat, even the heartbeat grew heavy.

"At that time, I didn't hold much authority, it was later extracted from the previous Pope's mouth, they sought a group among the demon hunters named after angels, continuously degrading the power of the Holy Grail until they conducted a simulated Grail plan."

Entering the ruins of the palace, past honors were long gone, so-called faith and God shattered to pieces on the ground, fear and madness from that night lingered everywhere, even after all these years, the priest could still clearly smell the corrosion in the air.