"So, you're saying… that through that eerie 'Gap', Archpriest Lawrence could now invade any one of us, at any moment?"
Within the heavily fortified chamber, Merlin frowned. From the fragments of intelligence Lloyd had brought back, this was the conclusion he had reached—
A conclusion that left no one untouched by unease.
Lloyd gave a slight nod.
"That's correct. Though… there should be limitations. Certain conditions that must be met to trigger the intrusion."
To invade through the Gap, one must first erode the target—establish a beacon, something that could guide the way.
"I see…"
Merlin clasped his hands together as tangled thoughts churned within his mind. The situation was growing darker, more complex by the moment.
"Mr. Holmes… this is an event of extreme danger."
His hollow gaze spoke more than words ever could.
"An enemy without form, without presence… and one that even possesses a measure of foresight into the future…"
As those words settled, it felt as though a slab of lead had been pressed onto every heart in the room. Even the air itself seemed to congeal, thick and suffocating.
Like a curtain of iron wrought from despair—black, immense—sealing away every trace of light.
This was an enemy that could scarcely be defeated. Merlin could not glimpse even the faintest outline of victory.
A tide of gloom surged. Never before had the Cleansing Authority encountered such an adversary. There was no point of entry, no strategy to grasp… perhaps not even the possibility of resistance.
In the final moments of their last encounter with Archpriest Lawrence, a horrifying wave of erosion had erupted from his body. Even Lloyd had fallen unconscious in an instant—let alone the others.
To commit large forces would be nothing short of sending them to die.
"So—do you have a plan?"
Lloyd spoke, his gaze shifting toward the far side of the room. Arthur stood there, his expression equally grave.
They were in the factory district of the Mechanic Institute. Though called a "factory," it produced nothing but heavy weaponry. Beyond it stretched a vast industrial expanse. After brief deliberation, Merlin had chosen this place as a temporary refuge.
Even if Lawrence were to arrive with a horde of demons, the defenses here—and the open terrain outside—would allow them to minimize losses.
This room served as a provisional war chamber. Only Merlin, Arthur, and Lloyd were present.
Celie still lay unconscious, tended by Red Falcon and Awei. Because of the involvement of Archpriest Lawrence and the mysterious Gap, the other High Knights had already been mobilized. With emergency maintenance from the Ever-Motion Pump, several relic armors of the Old Era now stood ready.
No one had expected that an ancient curse—one whose truth was uncertain—would give rise to such a catastrophe.
The powers lurking in the shadows had begun to stir.
War was imminent.
"A plan…"
Arthur lowered his head, his eyes veiled, unreadable.
In truth, more than Merlin or Lloyd, Arthur was the one most qualified to speak. As a scion of the Phoenix family, the instincts of war were etched into his blood. In battles of this scale—of total orchestration—he was the superior commander.
Old Dunling was his battlefield. Every force the Cleansing Authority could muster lay within his grasp. And here… he intended to end Lawrence.
After a long silence, Arthur slowly raised his head.
"I have drafted a preliminary plan. But… I do not yet know your thoughts."
His gaze settled on Lloyd. The power of a demon hunter would be the cornerstone in resisting Lawrence—and Arthur needed his consent.
"Yes. Your thoughts."
He continued, calm and unflinching.
"If his target is Miss Celie Stuart… then we might as well use her as bait."
Arthur spoke without the slightest trace of emotion.
"As you once said, Lloyd—when you fought that high-temperature demon, you… entered its Gap, and there, you killed its consciousness. And so it died. Its physical shell collapsed along with it."
"That was a discovery of great significance. Beyond the heart and the brain, demons possess a third fatal weakness."
He drew a breath.
"So if Archpriest Lawrence descends—and takes hold of Miss Stuart's mind…"
"Would that not mean… we have trapped him? His will would exist within her Gap."
Lawrence would invade Celie's consciousness—yet from another perspective, until he left, he would be confined within it.
Something flickered in Lloyd's eyes—cold, but trembling.
"My plan has two contingencies."
Arthur raised two fingers, his expression as cold as forged iron.
"First, we protect Celie Stuart at all costs. We wait for Lawrence to invade. And you…"
He paused slightly.
"You should also possess the ability to enter the Gap, correct?"
Lloyd had entered the Gap more than once—but it was not truly his power. It belonged to Medanzo… or Watson. Each time, he required their presence. Yet for the sake of confronting Lawrence, he had already reached an accord with Watson.
After a brief hesitation, he nodded.
Arthur continued.
"Then the rest is simple. The moment Lawrence invades—you follow. The battlefield will be set within that void of consciousness."
"If you succeed, you will annihilate his will entirely. The threat ends there."
"And if you fail…"
His voice did not waver.
"…then we will act."
"We? What will you do?" Lloyd asked sharply.
If he failed, within that strange nature of the Gap, he would have no means to counter Lawrence.
"Simple," Arthur replied indifferently.
"You withdraw from the Gap. As Lawrence attempts to seize control of Celie Stuart… we perform a frontal lobotomy."
"If our theory holds true, a sealed brain will imprison the consciousness completely."
"—A lobotomy?!"
Lloyd's voice rose, breaking its restraint.
"Arthur, what are you thinking?!"
"Remain calm, Mr. Holmes. This is merely a proposal—one directed at Lawrence."
Arthur remained perfectly rational, as if unaware of the cruelty of his own words.
"You intend to kill her along with him?"
"I will not kill her," Arthur replied evenly.
"This is the first time we've faced an enemy of this nature—one that exists on the mental plane. Destroying Miss Stuart's brain may kill Lawrence… or it may release him. We do not know."
"My recommendation is containment."
"If you fail within the Gap, we proceed with the operation—and then place Miss Stuart under long-term observation, to determine whether Lawrence persists."
If successful, Celie would become Lawrence's prison—
Just as Lloyd was once bound.
Only… she would have no consciousness of her own. It would be sealed away in darkness.
"You don't even know if this will work!" Lloyd snapped.
No one knew. No one could know. This was a war against the unknown—one that demanded someone step into the minefield first.
And this time… that someone was Celie.
"Arthur—what if, after I withdraw, Lawrence withdraws as well?"
"He won't have time."
Arthur's voice was cold as steel.
"The operation can be done in seconds. Crude, if necessary."
"A steel needle. Driven in—stirred—destroying the brain proteins."
Lloyd stared at him for a long time, anger burning in his eyes.
"…Is this your revenge?"
On the night Lawrence first appeared, Lloyd had chosen to sacrifice Eve.
Now Arthur would sacrifice Celie.
"No," Arthur said quietly.
"This is simply the most rational conclusion."
"I do not blame you. But back then, there was still room to maneuver against Lawrence."
"This time… there is none."
His lips curled faintly.
"Lawrence grows stronger by the day. With the Holy Grail in his grasp, he can now traverse the Gap itself."
"Consider it—though aged, in normal conditions his combat ability already stands at the pinnacle of humanity. Once he activates the Secret Blood, the erosion alone can render everyone within a hundred meters unconscious…"
"Even you—a demon hunter—could not resist it."
"And that is before we account for his foresight… his traversal of the Gap… or the powers we have yet to comprehend."
Arthur's gaze swept across Lloyd and Merlin—then beyond, as if piercing through the steel walls into the wider world.
"Which brings us back to the Gap."
"Until we understand its trigger—and how to prevent it—Lawrence could be anyone within this fortress."
His voice sharpened, edged with something almost terrifying.
"He may already be here. Wearing the body of a soldier. Walking among us."
"Or perhaps one of our High Knights… those who deal with demons daily."
"…Or Merlin."
"…Or me."
"…Or you."
Arthur pointed at them both. Calm—yet unhinged.
"Which means—any one of us may already be Lawrence."
"Perhaps I am Lawrence right now."
"Perhaps I am merely disguising myself well enough that you cannot tell."
The possibility was horrifying.
"No one can be trusted, Mr. Holmes."
Arthur's voice carried a quiet warning.
"So that's why you choose Celie?"
"Mr. Holmes… have you not realized yet?"
Arthur replied.
"Everything we are doing… is meaningless."
"This is no longer a simple commission."
"Even if it costs the life of a future duchess—or many more besides—if it allows us to eliminate Lawrence as a threat, I will act without hesitation."
"On the battlefield, we are no match for him. Once he releases erosion, anyone who approaches him will lose consciousness… or worse, descend into the third stage—becoming grotesque demons."
"Sacrificing Miss Stuart is merely one possibility… a chance to defeat him."
"But even a chance is worth pursuing."
"Because if we allow him to continue growing—there will come a day when we have no chance left at all."
He paused, then added—
"Remain rational. When faced with two evils, choose the lesser."
Lloyd's anger froze where it stood.
He stared at Arthur, speechless.
Yes…
To trade one girl's everything for Lawrence's death—
It was a fair exchange.
Even if it failed to kill him, to imprison him would still be a victory.
All it required…
Was the sacrifice of a single girl.
A chill crept through him.
Yes—just one life. Just one.
Had he not once disregarded Eve's life just the same?
What difference was there between her… and Celie?
He was a cold-blooded demon hunter. To eradicate demons, Lloyd would pay any price.
Such a cost should have been trivial.
So why—
Why did he feel anger?
Why hesitation?
…Or perhaps—
He was becoming human again.
Straying from the will of a weapon.
Upon cold steel, living flesh had begun to grow once more.
His humanity resisted him—softened him—shook him.
He drew a breath.
Even thinking about it felt like his mind was being torn apart.
He had never considered these things before. Hatred and rage had clouded him for far too long.
"This is your mistake, Mr. Holmes."
Arthur seemed to understand his torment.
"Emotion clouds judgment. That is why I have always hoped Eve would stay far away from me—never to meet again. She is my only weakness."
"You know this as well, don't you? You strive for absolute rationality… yet life has a way of mocking such efforts."
"Spend enough time even with a dog… and you will grow attached."
Celie's face surfaced in his mind.
He had tried, time and again, to distance himself from the girl. He knew too well what came of forming bonds with a demon hunter.
This was his mistake.
Had he remained untouched by such feelings, he would have been able to make this decision with perfect clarity.
It was only one girl.
In exchange for even the smallest chance of victory—
It was worth it.
"In truth… you have already lost, Mr. Holmes."
Arthur's voice cut through his thoughts.
"All of this assumes you fail within the Gap."
"If you can kill Lawrence there, none of these atrocities will occur."
"And yet your first instinct was to recoil from them…"
"So tell me—"
"Do you believe you can defeat him?"
The air turned frigid—like sinking into the abyssal sea.
"Powerless, isn't it?" Arthur continued.
"This… is the true nature of our struggle against demons. Not the effortless slaughter people imagine."
"We are mortals. Fragile, insignificant mortals—sailing upon a blackened sea."
"Sometimes we break through towering waves—and in that fleeting triumph, we believe we have conquered the ocean."
"But we have not."
"Never have, Mr. Holmes."
"The sea only gathers its strength… preparing that one overwhelming wave—"
"to swallow us whole."
Arthur watched as the light faded from Lloyd's eyes—
Until they became as cold and silent as a frozen sea.
"And now…"
"The wave has come."