Gun of Ashes-Chapter 500 - 98: Misleading
Actually, many people have never realized that if they limit their gaze to the Western world, they would be surprised to find that the oldest history is not of some kingdom, nor of some glorious family, but of the Evangelical Church.
Their presence appears in the earliest recorded documents; one might even say they mark the very beginning of Western history. They witnessed the fall of kingdoms and the rise of the Empire, evolving from cold steel blades to fiery firearms.
Through the passage of time, the Evangelical Church has come to possess knowledge and secrets far beyond ordinary understanding.
The Demon Hunters are among such secrets.
To combat the Demons, the Evangelical Church deciphered those forbidden powers from the Revelation, and it was these insights that gave birth to the Demon Hunters.
They possess powers far beyond that of ordinary people, with beast-like resiliency, and thunderous speed. Yet, these are not the most relied-upon strengths of the Demon Hunters. Their true power lies in their enigmatic Authority.
Wielding extraordinary authority.
Impenetrable armor, daytime-like flames, foreseeing the brief future...
To this day, the types of Authority possessed by Demon Hunters remain a mystery. At the very least, the knowledge from the Revelation had not been fully deciphered by the Evangelical Church before the Night of the Holy Arrival. Moreover, even when some Authorities are discovered, they may be sealed away for various reasons, such as the strange Gabriel.
So, the Authorities known to the public are not all that the Evangelical Church has mastered.
Moriarty looked at those entrapped in illusions, their eyes vacant, yet their physical actions did not stop.
This is not a complete Illusion Realm but an interweaving of illusion and reality, making it even harder for people to detect flaws. It was through this power that he forged everything and infiltrated Black Mountain Hospital.
The annoying sound kept blaring; in reality, the Geiger Counter had been triggered long ago, but the illusion distorted their senses. To Joey and the others, the Geiger Counter was silent, everything seemed normal, except for Joey himself.
In the illusion, Joey looked at Moriarty in front of him, feeling a pressure he had never felt before. He could sense some anomalies, but judging by the behavior of those around him, they did not notice these.
What is going on?
Until now, Joey still trusted his intuition, but one skeptical gaze after another fell upon him, as if pricking him with steel needles.
Suddenly, he felt a chilling coldness, as though he had been abandoned by the entire world, leaving him alone.
In a mad world, staying sane is a kind of sin.
"I can understand Joey’s hostility towards me; he doesn’t want to be treated... After all, nobody likes Black Mountain Hospital."
Moriarty had control of the entire situation. From the start, the Night Owl had never sensed the slightest fear from this guy, and even the Night Owl had a strange illusion for a moment, feeling that Moriarty resembled someone.
After a brief thought, he thought of that person, the damned Lorenzo Holmes.
In this line of work, there’s bound to be some psychological shadow, like the nightmares haunting Joey, or Bola’s gun... Night Owl had once been glad he wasn’t troubled by such shadows, but after that armor test, everything changed.
That fearsome Black Angel with the frenzy of death relentlessly assaulted the Sword Dancer.
At that time, Night Owl had no extra emotions. He thought he was going to die then, with the threat of death emptying his mind. But in the end, he survived. The seemingly wild Black Angel had always been bound by reason.
That oppressive feeling surfaced after the test ended. Night Owl began to dislike closed spaces, as they reminded him of the scenes during the test, with the Sword Dancer’s solid armor becoming his cage, bending under the Black Angel’s attack, pressing against Night Owl’s body.
For a moment, he even thought he would be crushed to death inside, becoming a pile of foul-smelling mush.
Lorenzo himself never expected to receive such "praise," but indeed, from a certain feeling, it was true. Moriarty and Lorenzo shared some similarities, regardless of the hellish situations they faced; they always maintained a calm demeanor, as if everything was within their calculations, even if the world was collapsing around them.
Saying it like this truly fits Lorenzo. Regardless of the time, even during the deadly battle with Lawrence, he was like this, everything was under control, although he himself might die.
"Being a doctor is a tough profession, isn’t it?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
Moriarty continued, his face showing a mix of concern and frustration, like a parent caring for their child but not being acknowledged by them.
"Because we can save lives, we are expected, but likewise, when we appear before you, it’s like the Death God itself, proving that your situation is dire... just like you, Joey, you fear that I will send you back to Black Mountain Hospital."
His voice made Joey uneasy. If he could, Joey wished to shoot this damned guy in front of him now. But he couldn’t. Even though Moriarty was suspicious, as a doctor at Black Mountain Hospital and a member of the Purification Mechanism, what awaited him was a second examination, not an immediate execution.
"And it’s easy to prove all of this."
Moriarty picked up the Geiger Counter emitting a faint green glow and leaned towards Joey.
