The world-devouring dragon

In 1706, in an underground church in London, the large church looked like a palace. Burning candles lit up the church. Many people dressed in black monks' uniforms silently watched the man who walked onto the stage step by step according to the ceremony. Aged scholar.

No one expected this scene today. The former middle-aged scholar now relied on his curiosity and hard work to finally gain the recognition of the entire monastery and become the master of the monastery.

At this moment, there are more than thirty members of the hermitage who have come from all over Europe to watch the ceremony. Excluding those members of the hermitage in the Middle East, Asia, and the newly discovered new world of America, half of the members of the hermitage are gathered here. , each of them shoulders an ancient mission, they may be poor, rich, young, or old, and belong to different cultures and countries, but they all vow to dedicate their lives to the monastery.

And when the scholar put on the black monk's uniform embroidered with special symbols, the many members of the monastery looked at the "master", then bowed their heads humbly, and praised together in an ancient language.

Different genders and different accents, only the deep and loud voice echoed in this underground church.

"The gods rejoice, the gods rejoice... You are the one who knows destiny, you are the one who sees the secrets, inherits the ancient bloodline, and keeps the eternal loyalty. You need to remember that you must not say things that cannot be said, and you must not hear or hear sounds. , the invisible appearance..."

…

1725, London, the residence of the famous scholar Newton.

Everyone knows that this unprecedented great scholar is in his laboratory, but few people have seen that great scholar with their own eyes. People have all kinds of speculations about him, but most of them are absurd and cannot withstand scrutiny. Just an idea.

In the study room, the old scholar was writing something. Next to him was a young apprentice. The apprentice was quietly waiting for the scholar's instructions, although serious scholars often had no time to pay attention to the apprentice.

After a while, the writing stopped.

Newton rubbed his forehead with his hands to relieve his fatigue. He is already eighty-three years old, and his ability to maintain vitality is due to the various secret techniques of the monastery. However, there are no immortal beings in this world. Even those of the vampire family need a long period of sleep to ensure themselves. energy, not to mention that he is only a human being.

After one last look at the words written in front of him, the scholar nodded with satisfaction.

"Lorenzo, give these to the Priory."

He ordered the apprentice beside him, and the young apprentice beside him respectfully took the thick text, and then walked out of the study. Outside, a series of Italian questions and answers between the apprentice and a woman rang out.

Not long after, the apprentice entered the study again, bowed and said.

"Mentor, we have left it to Peter's hands to resolve."

As a secret organization that has lasted for thousands of years, the structure of the Priory of Sion has become extremely complex. The original Priory of Sion was only composed of a group of hermits. Later, it gradually evolved into many forces. At its peak, the members of the real Priory of Sion only numbered a hundred, but the number of various affiliated forces was more than 100. There are more than a thousand people, and without these affiliated forces, the Priory would not be able to fight against those vampires and the like.

The Hand of Peter is one of the affiliated forces of the Priory of Sion. Peter is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He is known for being as firm as a stone and is the cornerstone of the great cause of Christianity. The meaning of the Hand of Peter is naturally also for its approval. Most of its members are determined warriors, and have been instrumental in the fight between the Priory and other weirdos. Although Lorenzo is only the scholar's apprentice, he is also a formal member of the Monastery and one of the leaders of the Hand of Peter, so he can naturally use the Hand of Peter.

The scholar nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Then he was silent for a while and said.

"Lorenzo, do you remember Galileo's letter?"

"Remember."

Hearing the apprentice's voice, the scholar closed his eyes.

More than thirty years ago, he was invited by the monastery to assist in the interpretation of Galileo's letters, because Galileo once said that he had helped those who came after him. However, after scholars carefully examined the letter for a long time, they finally determined that there was nothing in it. Help and secrecy, much to the dismay of the Priory at the time.

But as the scholar grows older and learns more and more, he seems to have a different idea.

"That guy Galileo... obviously showed so much hesitation and uneasiness in the letter, saying that he could no longer resist the power, full of annoyance and fear, but in fact... haha, that guy is indeed Galileo, and he deserves my admiration. pioneer."

Lifting his glasses, the scholar chuckled and said, then he looked at the apprentice beside him and asked again.

"Lorenzo, do you think why Galileo is considered the founder of modern science?"

"this……"

The apprentice hesitated for a moment. He was more often used as an apprentice in the monastery to serve the master, rather than an apprentice in science. Instead, he paid more attention to mysterious technology than science.

The scholar shook his head.

"Because Galileo was the first person to believe in the concept of scientific practice. Scholars before him, including Aristotle in ancient Greece, believed that speculation can explain everything in the world, but he was different. He believed that experimental facts should be used as the basis for explaining everything in the world. Ground is the door to the truth. What he admired was human reason and opposed the mysterious speculation of scholasticism, so he was the founder of modern science."

As he spoke, he paused and then continued.

"To be honest, he used to be my spiritual mentor. When I saw that letter, I was more shocked than you can imagine, because I can't imagine that a person who advocates reason would do it because of Fear and choose to obey that statue.”

"In other words, Master, you are standing on his shoulders to create all this?"

The apprentice couldn't help but ask.

There was a widely circulated saying among scholars when they were young, "I can see farther than others because I stand on the shoulders of giants." This saying is so widespread that even apprentices who are not very interested in science know it.

But in front of the apprentice, the scholar's face looked a little strange, and he coughed a few times for no reason, and then said something deliberately.

"This...can be considered, mainly due to the frivolity of youth."

Frivolous?

The apprentice was a little confused. He couldn't understand why the scholar said this, but it was obvious that the scholar was not very willing to explain this matter and continued.

"I thought that there were no secrets in that letter. This conclusion cannot be said to be wrong, because it was not directly mentioned in the letter. It is necessary to combine it with other things to understand Galileo's words...that is Master Leonardo da Vinci if."

“I have been searching for various information over the years, and finally I realized that Leonardo da Vinci may be far smarter than all of us thought. Maybe no one combined knows as much as Leonardo about the secrets of the statue... "

At the end of the sentence, the scholar was obviously hesitant, and finally murmured.

"I even suspect... that it may have successfully cracked the statue and opened it."

…

Two years later, somewhere in London, a letter sent by the scholar before his death was opened.

"Brothers and sisters of the Monastery, may God bless you. I have never dared to make any assertions because I am still not completely sure of the truth, but on my deathbed, I have to share what I have felt. I will tell you everything I have received, although there may be some falsehoods and speculations in it.”

"In my opinion, the secrets in Galileo's letters are actually related to Leonardo da Vinci. In his letters, he stated that he saw many things in his later years. We cannot understand what those things were, but there is no doubt that it was exactly what he saw. Things that allowed him to know about the Priory of Sion, the Vampire Clan, and many other things."

"So is it possible that...he saw something about Leonardo da Vinci?"

"Among all the custodians of statues, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo were the two who had been in contact with the statue for the longest time. Da Vinci was the first to discover the statue, and Galileo stayed with the statue from childhood to old age. Both He has extraordinary knowledge of statues. Leonardo da Vinci said, don’t explore the secrets in the statue, let it sleep forever, because humans cannot resist its power, but Galileo was frightened and said that he had a guide to tell Descendants..."

“Then why didn’t Leonardo da Vinci say there was a secret, but Galileo said there was a secret in sculpture?”

"I don't think Galileo knew anything more than Leonardo da Vinci. In fact, Leonardo da Vinci may have the deepest understanding of the statue. But da Vinci didn't say there was any secret about the statue. He just told the Priory He kept it forever because he did not believe that human beings had the ability to defeat the power in that sculpture. But Galileo was different. While he fell into the same fear as Leonardo da Vinci, he mustered up his last courage and implicitly It expresses that there is a 'secret' in this statue."

"What kind of secret is this? A guide that Da Vinci thought was useless, but Galileo thought was helpful to mankind. Why do the two have so different attitudes towards this 'secret'?"

"When I realized this, I remembered that the difference between the two of them was that they lived in different times..."

"In Leonardo's time, human beings were still extremely weak, and gunpowder technology had just begun to develop. Leonardo understood this deeply, so he was afraid of that power because he believed that power was invincible to humans. But In Galileo's time, human technology had begun to change. He was the first person to propose "rational scientific experiments." He was keenly aware of this, so he faintly realized that... that force did not seem to be invincible. .”

"He was afraid of that power and could not express it, but he placed his hope on future generations..."

"If you think about it from this perspective, when I looked at the letter again, based on the order of the letters, I was able to find the hidden 'guidance'..."

“The sculpture was found by the Priory not because the Priory was looking for it, but because it was looking for the Priory, and the secrets kept by the Priory’s masters were exactly what it was looking for… …”

"All of this may be the fate of the monastery. We are destined to face that sculpture..."

…

France, in a manor in Paris.

Under the dark night, the manor was brightly lit, and from time to time the indulgent laughter of the men and women at the banquet could be heard. And in that banquet, sitting at the top of the table was a pale-faced nobleman with meticulous solemn makeup and wearing fifteenth-century costumes, as if he had come from the Hundred Years War.

He looked at the many men and women in front of him, covered his head, seemed a little uncomfortable, and whispered something in his mouth.

"...The Priory..."

In his ears, an inexplicable whisper was urging something. Although the whisper had always existed, it had never been so strong that it made the vague direction seem to become clear.

After a long time, he raised his head, revealing his sharp fangs...

"Ahhhh..."

Opening his arms, amidst many panicked shouts, the noble's arms turned into huge bat wings, and his glowing red pupils looked indifferently at the humans in front of him. As the black mist suddenly hit the banquet, everyone was enveloped in it, and the screams in the black mist also disappeared one by one.

It is said that that night, countless bats flew out of the manor, all flying towards the same place...