The Mystery of the Secret Blood

That was a long history, hidden in the dark side of the world. Everyone who understood its significance kept silent, and only when their time came to depart would they pass this secret on.

"The first to fight against the demons was the Gospel Church, or more accurately, the secret organization under the Gospel Church: the Demon Hunter Order."

Lorenzo began to recount the history that should have been forgotten. His gaze was unfocused, as if he could vaguely see those people who had raised torches to expose themselves to the night.

"At the very beginning, humanity could not contend with the demons. The only way to defeat them was to pile up human lives. It was the darkest and most difficult era; we could only huddle behind fortresses, trembling, or sacrifice our own kind to appease the demons' aggression. It was a bloody era, until one day, someone claimed to have received the will of God."

Eve was drawn in by Lorenzo's story.

"God's... will?"

Lorenzo nodded and continued, just like all myths and grotesque tales, there was always that one person who pioneered everything.

"He said he had received God's will, claiming that in the north, there was a divinity that could rid them of the demons. So, he gathered a group of people who believed his words—that group must have been the world's first believers. They crossed the dark lands, left the kingdom by ship, and after an unknown amount of time, traveled to the north covered in frost, setting foot on that uninhabited ice sheet."

"Many years later, everyone had forgotten them, and the only ones who remembered thought they had died on the way. But suddenly, one day, those people returned. They carried bronze canisters sealed with gold and holy silver, featuring craftsmanship far beyond the technology of that time, as if both gods and ghosts had been imprisoned upon that metal. They looked ferocious, guarding the knowledge within."

"Inside were books written in an ancient language. Aside from the man who received God's will, only the believers who had traveled with him could understand those books. After many more years, they finally translated them."

As Lorenzo whispered, the connection to the uncanny became more profound. Eve had a strange feeling, as if she had arrived in a new world.

Melodious piano music drifted from the street, and low prayers echoed in the room. Only then did the two realize that there was a city church nearby. It seemed there was some event today; the pipe organ played a magnificent piece, and the congregants murmured their prayers.

"They named that book the Gospel Book, and thus the Gospel Church appeared. It was built upon seven hills, and so the Seven Hills rose from that barren land. Then came the expansion of faith, and the Holy Gospel Papal State emerged upon the map of the world."

This was the origin of that ancient group, carrying the colors of myth and epic, making Eve forget her own abnormality for a moment.

"Of course, I don't believe these things. They're just stories; anyone can make them up. But what is certain is that the Gospel Book is not that simple, and in fact, there are two volumes. The first is the Gospel Book everyone knows, which preaches God and faith, while the other is only circulated within the internal ranks of the Church."

Picking up a cigarette, Lorenzo took a deep drag. As the smoke rose, this was where the true secrets lay.

"The name of the other book is the Apocalypse. Just as the Gospel Book established the Gospel Church, in the darkness, the Apocalypse founded the Demon Hunter Order. There is no God or faith there; that book contains only knowledge about demons."

It was the most mysterious knowledge involving the depths of the world, yet Lorenzo spoke of it so casually now. Even though it was wealth obtained by countless people with their blood, in Lorenzo's mouth, it seemed worthless.

"After having faith, the Gospel Church integrated the vast majority of people at the time, establishing a divine kingdom belonging to humans in the dark world. But that was not enough; it was not enough to fight the demons. So, the believers of that time opened the Apocalypse in the name of God and established the Demon Hunter Order."

"In the face of the threat of death, humanity is far more terrifying than we realize ourselves."

Lorenzo said this and laughed again, with a tone of irony.

"Abandoning ethics and morality, without any bottom line, simply to survive."

"...What did you do?"

Eve felt a sense of unease. Her body was cold, as if a swarm of snakes were coiling around her, their icy scales scraping against her skin.

"To kill a demon, one must first become a demon."

That bell-like statement struck Eve's heart. She felt it—the deepening of that connection, that inexplicable yet clearly visible, uncanny feeling. Something had been added to this world for her, like a damn machine. Before, she was merely an ordinary operator, but now, more functions were opening their doors to her.

"Demons are very strange. Their vitality is surprisingly tenacious; they don't need much food, they possess the strength to easily tear through armor, and they have the ability to erode our will. We find it hard to kill them with fire or sword strikes. Compared to them, humanity is so fragile..."

Eve stared at Lorenzo, her breathing becoming uncontrollably rapid. The sound of her own heartbeat echoed clearly in her ears.

The door was opening—that dark door.

"You... you..."

Eve guessed something, but she dared not say it. The emotion called fear rose from the bottom of her heart. It was as if, like a spoken curse, she felt that once she voiced that terrible truth, it would become reality.

Lorenzo smiled slightly, seemingly surprised that Eve's reaction was so quick. He said:

"This technology is called 'Secret Blood'."

"We kill those demons, extract their blood through a series of complex processes known as alchemy, and then consume it. It allows us to become as powerful as demons, but it is full of uncontrollability. According to the Order's records, those who first consumed Secret Blood were disposable. Their sanity could only be maintained for a few minutes before they fell completely into darkness and became one of the demons."

"Although the side effects were huge, at least we won against the demons for once. Next came the long experimental phase. The test subjects were locked in iron cages, with dozens of people pointing iron spears at them; if they failed, they would be immediately pierced and killed..."

"This... this is madness!"

Just listening to Lorenzo's account, Eve could feel that dark despair. She curled up on the sofa like a frightened little animal.

"You could accept this?"

"Compared to humanity no longer living in fear, these costs are truly cheap."

Lorenzo said blandly. No one could judge that dark history at will.

"Such experiments lasted for over a hundred years, until the appearance of the first generation of stable subjects. They could control the power of demons while maintaining their sanity. They were the 'fit' for Secret Blood, and also the first batch of Demon Hunters. That was the first time humanity possessed the power to fight demons head-on."

Raising his hand, the wound on Lorenzo's arm was slowly healing. He looked at Eve with a smile.

"Sabo died simply because he was not a fit. His body could not withstand the pressure of the Secret Blood. But you are different, Eve. I suspect you became a fit a long time ago, you just didn't know it."

This was the reason Lorenzo believed in. Eve was also a fit who possessed Secret Blood; she had simply lived for so long without ever realizing it.

"How is that possible!"

Eve screamed. She couldn't fathom how she could be involved with such a thing. Past memories kept flashing before her eyes; they were such familiar memories, yet at this moment, they were covered in a layer of illusion.

"It is the only result. Like a mathematical formula, no matter how absurd the result may seem, the formula does not lie. That is the only correct result. Just like you—you possess Secret Blood, you are still alive, and you have lived healthily for so long. If not for everything that happened tonight, your Secret Blood might have remained submerged in your body forever, never awakening until the day you died."

The great detective stated his deduction, like a cruel, fated destiny.

"At some point in your past, you must have come into contact with it. From that moment on, you established a connection with the darkness..."

He spoke, but suddenly stopped, cold sweat trickling down his skin. Lorenzo looked up at the patterned ceiling, his gaze seemingly piercing through the material to reach the firmament above, trying to catch a glimpse of that person—the one who manipulated fate.

It seemed as though some unknown entity, perhaps a god or something else entirely, was pulling the strings of destiny from the shadows. Eve had established a connection with the darkness long ago; the darkness had never let her go, it had merely delayed its arrival until now.

In a sense, it wasn't that Lorenzo had found Eve and ignited this night of madness, but rather that their ancient connection had allowed Eve to be found by him. Like the Gungnir of fate, it had been cast with Eve's destiny attached an untold number of years ago, only to pierce through this frantic night today.

This was a fated destiny.

Heading out for an interview. There will likely be a second update, I'll do my best.