"Why tell me. ”

Amy asked cautiously - the truth, even if it was doomed to be abandoned, even if it was the truth of a failed experiment, it was a big secret, although the origin of his current identity was innocent, it was obviously not enough in the power system of the Order to have access to this secret level.

The ancestors said: Nothing to be courteous and courteous, either treacherous or thief.

So when the pie hit on top of his head, his first reaction was not to ask in ecstasy, but to reflect on the possible pitfalls and realize the ...... The question she subconsciously asked just now was actually somewhat abnormal in a trainee who had graduated from a training institute.

But fortunately, da Vinci didn't seem to notice this.

The middle-aged gentleman showed a distressed look, and he scratched his head: "Let's put it this way, there is actually no special reason, it's just ...... Out of gratitude to you. ”

"No, no," Amy faked a look of trepidation, "I just did what I could, where is your gratitude?"

It seemed that the performance was a little too much, and secretly, he couldn't help but judge his impromptu performance just now.

"That's because you didn't realize what you did," the head of the armament department laughed dumbly, "to put it bluntly, you are the hero, the hero who saved hundreds of people from the erosion of chaos." ”

"Chaos erosion?" the young Gloryman really didn't react this time, "Mr. Leonardo da Vinci...... You may not be mistaken, I don't seem to have done anything commendable in that dead city. ”

"No, you did. The middle-aged gentleman stretched out a finger and shook it, "You led them into the world where Mammon is, and this is your greatest contribution." ”

"You mean to kill Mammon?"

There was no point in killing Mammon, if he guessed correctly, Pandimaninan was just a false world, and the greedy hell built on it was also just a piece of data in the Difference Machine - killing it didn't mean much to those who were outside the Difference Machine.

"On the contrary," Leonardo da Vinci gave the reason, an unacceptable reason, "your contribution is not in killing any monster, but in ...... Assemble and unite those who have just awakened the stigmata, or those who are about to awaken the stigmata, and lead them to their deaths. ”

"Sorry, I still don't quite understand what you mean?" Amy felt a faint grasp of something.

"So it's necessary to start with you," said the head of the armament department, tweaking his knick-knack, a black iron cross with alchemical inscriptions on it, "but before that, it is necessary to congratulate you. ”

"Congratulations?"

"Congratulations on becoming the only hero in the Order's nearly 1,000-year history to receive the Iron Cross before becoming a swordbearer. Leonardo da Vinci patted him on the shoulder in fear and put the Iron Cross ornament in his hand, "Take it, this thing is quite golden, and only a few people have the opportunity to see its true face in the sword-wielder stage - of course, I specially added this one you have on hand." ”

"Spiced?"

Amy rubbed it as she subconsciously looked at the intricate inscriptions added to it.

"It's better than nothing," Leonardo da Vinci was obviously not very satisfied with his work, but after all, it was from him, and the necessary explanation was still necessary, "mainly attached to a few small but somewhat practical functions - the first is energy storage, which can store the free power of order in the air, and the second is lighting, which can be activated by a specific password when needed, which can replace torches to a certain extent. The lantern, and the third is bursting, when facing a truly powerful enemy, you can detonate all the power of order stored in it through specific commands built into it, power...... In a full state, even a high-level demon may be injured by this. ”

"It's amazing. ”

The Glorious One sighed from the bottom of his heart, it was very, very remarkable that a small cross could be endowed with so many functions, and it was no wonder that he could become the head of the Order's Equipment Department.

"It's just a little thing to make," the middle-aged gentleman didn't particularly care about this, he spread his hands, "It was supposed to hold a medal ceremony, but I didn't get it because I didn't think it was troublesome, and these little functions and the truth I will tell next can be regarded as compensation for you, a little, insignificant compensation." ”

Amy didn't speak, just sat respectfully, waiting for his next words.

"Before I start, I first ask. Leonardo da Vinci changed to a more comfortable sitting position, let the cat on his shoulder jump on his lap, and stroked its smooth fur with his hand, "You know something about the previous trial." ”

"It's a fantasy," the young Glory-Bearer said, "a fantasy that isn't simple. ”

"There's nothing wrong with that. The head of the Order's Equipment Department shook his head, "I'll start from scratch on my side - this trial, at least your trial, is actually not simple, using artificial ...... Forget it, you just need to know that you have used the most advanced experiments of our equipment department, hoping to build your self-confidence by defeating visible enemies, and help the sword wielders of the reserve better adapt to the power of stigmata. ”

"The experiment was very effective at the beginning, and by comparing the experimental data of groups A and B, we can find that group A is not only lower than group B in terms of arousal rate, but also completely defeated in terms of survival rate. But things never go so smoothly – the unexpected comes as planned. ”

"Old Dominator," he paused, "have you ever heard of that name?"

- Of course I've heard of it, and I've been scolding it head-on.

Amy has a close relationship with the ancient gods who once ruled the old world shrouded in chaos, but that doesn't mean that he, as Judas, can know these forbidden knowledge.

So he just shook his head.

"That is the ultimate evil of the world's former rulers, the direct incarnation of the Great Source of Chaos, an enemy that human beings must never encounter. The middle-aged gentleman explained briefly, and with this led to the next topic, "Basically the most powerful, the most insane, the most terrifying, and the most incomprehensible force in the entire territory of the order—and at the feet of you and me, beneath the living Canaan of the Order, lies a former ruler. ”

"Aren't you afraid that I'm a pawn of Chaos to break into the Order?"

After hesitating for a while, Amy couldn't help but ask—the news of the Old Dominator was very important, and even a leak could cause panic and turmoil within the Order, which was really not like a secret that could be told to him, to a newcomer who had just joined the Order for many years.

"Your spiritual hue is pure, healthy blue. Leonardo da Vinci said, "I believe in my machine, and in me who created it—and what reason should I not trust you......? These secrets are not a big deal, they are open secrets in the upper echelons of the Order. ”

But I'm not at the top of the Order.

The Glory One is angry and funny, but he still pretends to be meticulous.

"I believe that judging by your performance in the trial, you will be able to reach this level sooner or later, and in that illusion, you may have already met Him, and it is not only meaningless to hide it from you, but it may also harm you. As if seeing through his thoughts, the middle-aged gentleman said, and then was slightly stunned, knocked his head with a cane, and looked at him with embarrassment, "I'm sorry, where did I just go?"

"Old Dominators. ”

"That's right, Old Ruler!" he leaned with his cane, "this monster that is completely incomprehensible to humans can exist in this world in a purely spiritual way, lurking in human dreams or consciousness—through a means that we still cannot analyze and understand, it has invaded this trial, polluted the false world, and exerted a rather bad influence on a considerable part of the trialists. ”

"Does that make sense?" Amy asked, "or is he going to do something?"

"I don't know. Leonardo da Vinci exhaled heavily, "Just as ants can't understand people's thoughts, human beings have no way of understanding the ancient evil gods born in the old universe, maybe they are planning to take advantage of this rare opportunity to do something, or they are out of a simple desire to destroy and kill - his form of existence, way of cognition, and thinking motivation are always vague, ambiguous, and chaotic, like a fog that is forever distorted and can never be seen through." ”

Perhaps.

The Glorious One raised his eyebrows - noncommittal, the terrible monster under Hemtika aside, the king in yellow seen in the illusion was able to retain a certain degree of intellect.

Is this the difference between an incarnation and an ontology, or is there some reason in it that he doesn't know?

He didn't know.

So don't comment.

Fortunately, his silence was used as a means to hide his horror and consternation, and the head of the Order's Equipment Department nodded appreciatively as he stared at him, staring at the young man in front of him who had performed far more perfectly than expected in the trial.

Then, he continued:

"Of course, there is no need to be discouraged by this, for the masters of the old worlds may be strong, but we are not helpless lambs to the slaughter – your presence speaks for this – he sowed the seeds of chaos and was strangled before they could sprout, and you were strangled in the cradle. ”

"Me?"

Amy pointed to herself, still unsure why the big man who even had a lot of money at the Order's headquarters was so fond of him.

"It's you," Leonardo da Vinci nodded affirmatively, "Demon King Mammon, its existence is not so much a part of the trial, but rather a background board, a defense mechanism, the disappearance of those excellent people who have awakened the stigma has nothing to do with it, it is a natural escape after successful awakening." ”

"What do you mean......" may have something to do with the fact that there had been similar speculation for a long time, and the Honorers easily accepted it, "It is not the so-called ultimate enemy at all." ”

"Hmm. The middle-aged gentleman lifted the frame of his glasses, "Your approach is beyond my expectations, beyond all of us' expectations, Mammon was originally the same setting as the backstory, creating a long-term goal for everyone, an imaginary enemy that must be defeated, but we never thought that someone could really gather the vast majority of the people in the illusion and launch an almost mortal expedition- Unexpectedly, this almost unplanned expedition would render the legacy of the old ruler who was sealed under Canaan ineffective. ”

"What did it leave behind?" Amy asked.

He remembered Cobcock, who should have had the back hand of the King in Yellow as well, and he didn't know how he was doing.

It's just not too good to think about.

"Pollution, the erosion of chaos, the murmur of nightmares, the alienation of the mind—in short, that's it. ”

Leonardo da Vinci's voice was low and flat, and it was easy to give people the illusion that "this is not a big deal", but Amy knew that this was not a trivial matter that could be passed by, whether it was chaos erosion, or nightmare murmuring, or mental alienation, it was enough to fundamentally change a person, and make the most devout believers degenerate into outright monsters, and large-scale corruption and depravity were definitely one of the worst and most undesirable situations for the Order, which has always prided itself on its orthodoxy and purity.

"But luckily, you killed everything before it germinated. He paused, "All of them, all those who died in the trial, have succeeded in freeing themselves from the bondage of illusion before the irreparable evil fall comes. ”

"So-"

"You are a hero, you saved everyone, this Iron Cross, you deserve it!"

"They, I mean those who have been parasitized and corrupted by chaos...... What will happen?" after a brief silence, Amy couldn't help but ask, "And ...... If someone—someone who has been corrupted by chaos but hasn't had time to get out of this trial, what will he face in the end?"

"The shallow chaos infection is not difficult to cure, and they can enter the battle sequence again after a series of treatments," the middle-aged gentleman shook his head, "but if they fail to intervene in time, and the spirit and chaos gradually become homogeneous, then ...... He's going to be our enemy, an enemy of the dead, of life and death—I say that, you see?"

"Well, I will. ”

This is not a lie, the glorious ones from the city of Hemtika have never been soft-hearted.

When it's time to be ruthless, there will never be half a bit of ambiguity.

It's just that...... He still couldn't help but choke for Corbock, for the end of that short boy from Ramsden - what if...... He was able to kill him ruthlessly, kill him who might have been infected by the consciousness of the King of Yellow, maybe ...... Able to save him.

But there are no ifs in the world, and the harbingers of death allow him to glimpse the future to a certain extent, but he is not a prophet after all, and there will be a moment when he will be overlooked.

There is no going back.