"Good morning, Owes." Although they hadn't known each other for long, Eve casually rested her arm on the side of Owes' wheelchair and started chatting with the boy.
"Oh, I don't know what's going on today. Even though it's raining, people usually co out to take a stroll, but today, no one ca."
Eve found it a bit strange, while Swift remained silent. She almost felt grateful to this girl for interrupting the conversation.
"Maybe they're watching the rain from their rooms."
Owes replied offhandedly. This girl was full of energy, a stark contrast to this gloomy hospital. At tis, Owes felt overwheld by Eve's joy, as if nothing dark could trouble her.
You could say she's strong-willed, born ready to join the Purification chanism to slay demons. Or you could say she's heartless.
Owes often heard Arthur talking about these things. Bola represented strong willpower; not everyone could survive the Silent Sea. Red Falcon, on the other hand, seed heartless. Who would have thought that the carefree fellow joined the Purification chanism just for the staff dormitory?
"Eve... Owes, you're here too."
Another voice rang out. Bluebird, fully ard, approached with a squad of soldiers in tow.
"What's going on?"
Swift felt a bit uneasy at the scene.
"You two co with us to the safe house."
At this point, Bluebird didn't bother with unnecessary cover-up and spoke directly.
"Safe house?"
Eve was still a bit unsure of what was happening, but the soldiers had already surrounded her and were forcibly taking her away, regardless of what she said.
"Swift, report to the research area. The experint is about to start."
A soldier took hold of Owes' wheelchair and pushed him along with Eve. As they crossed paths, Bluebird took another look at Owes. He felt a sense of familiarity with the boy but couldn't recall where he had seen him.
However, these were no longer important. The experint was about to comnce, and most patients at Black Mountain Hospital were to be temporarily secured to prevent a possible attack by the new Order.
The entire Black Mountain Hospital was in motion. Steam wafted from the corners, soldiers in black cloaks clutching deadly weapons. They might not reach those potential enemies, but as with the strategies against demons in those dark tis, just piling on bodies was enough. If these n could delay by a second or two, it could provide a chance for the Armor of Original Sin to strike.
The steam engines roared to life, tal puppets slowly rising under the rain. They had completely abandoned the notion of concealing themselves, carrying heavy fuel tanks on their backs, with cold rain cascading down the edges of their blades.
Joey, strapped into a straitjacket, was bound to an iron bed. He strained to rise, just enough to barely see the rain beyond the window and the iron entities moving within it.
"Armor of Original Sin... Why are they here?"
He murmured softly, but before he could ponder more, searing pain erupted from his mind.
Once the Secret Blood reached a critical point, the demon hunter himself beca a source of terrifying corruption. Moriarty had begun by eroding Joey with this very thod.
Moriarty was a demon hunter, one from the new Order. What exactly was he planning to do?
Joey longed to prove it all, but now he was a corrupted madman. No one at Black Mountain Hospital would listen to him. Even if soone could validate it all, considering Moriarty's hallucinatory powers, Joey believed those who witnessed Moriarty with him had their perceptions distorted.
He had beco part of the conspiracy, yet he still didn't know what Moriarty truly aid to do.
Suddenly, the door swung open, but this ti it wasn't a nurse who entered, but soldiers.
"What are you doing?" Joey sensed sothing amiss and shouted loudly.
"Upper-Rank Knight, Mystic Phoenix, is undergoing treatnt due to corruption."
The soldiers recited his identity, clearly there to fetch Joey.
"Take him to safe house number three."
"What safe house? What happened! What's with the Armors of Original Sin!" Joey shouted.
"He's too noisy. Nurse! Sedative!"
The soldier yelled, but then, more bizarre voices echoed.
"Let go! I am a general! I want to die at the front line; don't think you can take to the rear!"
"Too rough! Too rough! Can't it be more elegant?"
Incessant bizarre voices mixed with soldiers' screams.
"This old man is biting ! Let go!"
"You deserters! Deserters!"
"Sedative! Sedative! Where's the nurse?"
The whole scene turned into chaos, but due to his restraints, Joey couldn't see what was happening. He only felt himself being pushed and pulled around, followed by a needle piercing into his vein, as his consciousness grew heavy.
It was like a ridiculous farce until the last mont he closed his eyes when he saw another figure strapped to an iron bed.
"Hig?"
It should have been Hig, though his body had turned an ashen blue, with joints distorted from corruption. But it ought to be Hig.
In that instant, Joey seed to realize sothing. Suddenly, he understood what Moriarty was trying to do, how ticulously he had orchestrated it all, only for Lorenzo Hols.
He yearned to voice it all, but there was no opportunity. His consciousness was gradually sinking.
...
"Is this Black Mountain Hospital? But I never realized its existence. What's going on?"
A heavy voice sounded from beneath the bird-beak mask. The Plague Doctor observed this mysterious hospital amidst the rain. Despite the route they took being so clear, the Plague Doctor, as if under so influence, never realized the "road" existed.
"Probably so kind of anti-? Lorenzo de' dici seed to have researched this stuff too but eventually turned to the study of immortality due to the frail human body."
A woman's voice spoke. Turning to look, it was a nurse. The Plague Doctor remained silent for a mont, then continued.
"Well... Lawrence, you're making feel a bit uneasy."
"What's uneasy?" Lawrence asked.
"Alright, it's nothing. But where's your main body now? Weren't you supposed to co along with ?" the Plague Doctor inquired.
"Engaged with sothing more urgent," Lawrence replied.
"Okay... But if this place is protected by so anti-, how did you find it?" the Plague Doctor curiously asked, noting that Lawrence's secrets were far more than expected.
"Beacon. I have more than one beacon," Lawrence referred to Owes. Using this beacon, he pinpointed Black Mountain Hospital's exact location.
"So, are we just going to walk in like that?"
"What else?"
"You could just abandon this body and leave, but if I face the main forces of the Purification chanism, I might die here, Lawrence." The Plague Doctor said.
"Don't worry, they're currently concentrated in the research area. We're now in the light symptom area, where defenses are weakest."
His pupils glowed subtly. Through Owes' eyes, the actions of the Purification chanism were exposed to his view, and even the new Order was likewise exposed. When Moriarty discovered Hig, the new Order was revealed to Lawrence.
"The new Order and the Purification chanism remain on guard against each other. If stale, Moriarty alone isn't enough to stir any waves." Lawrence said.
"So we need to give them a little nudge, right?"
The Plague Doctor's voice brimd with delight. He opened the iron box he carried; the inferior Secret Blood he had transported was all here, the shimring crimson liquid radiating a vibe of hostility and madness.
"Leave the next steps to you, Plague Doctor. There are nurous patients in the light symptom area, and this Secret Blood is sufficient to trigger a demon tide. I believe the new Order won't miss this chance."
"So what are you going to do?" the Plague Doctor asked.
"et an old friend."
Lawrence said as he closed his eyes. The sounds of wind and rain receded, and in the endless darkness, a faint light appeared. He then opened his eyes and saw the man behind the long table.
"Long ti no see, Cardinal Miguel."
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