The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 32

The speeding bullet traversed the long distance, cutting through the pitch-black corridor with a funeral-like roar, piercing the demon's body. But it wasn't just the end. The rotating bullet, smeared with Lloyd's blood, acted like volatile oil, igniting within the demon's body.

A blazing white fire erupted from the contorted body of the demon, seeming to possess its own will. The pure white flames tore through the demon's body, incinerating its putrid flesh, igniting every drop of blood with escalating intensity.

At the dark end, Lloyd seemed to be whispering something. He raised his shotgun, each pull of the trigger accompanied by dazzling flashes of light.

"Secret Blood Awakening, 3%... Stable within range... Mental judgment normal... Silver Bind Seal remains intact..."

With a faint glow in his eyes, Lloyd muttered incomprehensible words, shooting at the demon while swiftly approaching.

Like a grand firework, under the pure white envelope, the demon emitted a mournful sound. It was perhaps an unquenchable holy flame, determined to burn all evil to ashes.

"Eve! Get away!"

Lloyd shouted. Eve, exerting all her strength, managed to move a bit. Then, the demon violently crashed into the surrounding walls towards Lloyd. Unlike Eve's space, which was a straight corridor, the demon and Lloyd were on a collision course. But Lloyd seemed utterly unconcerned.

The ferocious figure, carrying white flames, clashed with the black silhouette. In a flash of white light, Lloyd slid under the demon during the final impact, a bloody blade raised high like a torch, completely cleaving its soft abdomen. Endless white flames poured out, devouring the demon entirely.

Lloyd slowly climbed up, feeling much older after battling demons, a thing he hadn't done in years. He didn't even look back at the howling demon. The burning figure lost its mobility, only spewing blood weakly, until the white flames reduced it to ashes.

"Are you still able to walk?"

Looking at the heavily injured girl, Lloyd was somewhat surprised. He thought Eve would die at the demon's hands. After all, for most people encountering demons for the first time, that was the most normal outcome. But evidently, Eve was different. In the end, this girl wasn't crushed by the terrifying pressure; instead, it spurred her to wield her sword bravely.

"I might have a few broken bones..."

Eve gritted her teeth, enduring pain and tears, struggling to stand up. Before, there was no way out, so she didn't find death terrifying. But now that Eve had survived, she felt a chilling coldness piercing her heart.

This feeling of narrowly escaping death was truly complex.

"What exactly are they?"

Lloyd helped Eve up, and the two moved deeper into the darkness together. Though Eve didn't say it explicitly, Lloyd knew what she was asking.

"Taboo technology from ancient times... You saw it too. Those demons run faster than leopards, are stronger than bears. Some even possess human-like intelligence, not to mention their nearly indestructible nature and mind-breaking aura."

Sometimes Lloyd found it laughable; compared to them, demons were the most perfect creatures. He casually spoke, gripping his staff-sword, wary of the darkness around them.

"In the past, fighting demons meant piling up human lives. It was a cruel era. To survive the night, humanity paid an unimaginable price. And this technology was the result of that price."

To win, the Order did things no better than the demons were. But as Lloyd's mentor once said, some evils were necessary. Only now's brutality could ensure the survival of another group of people.