The world-devouring dragon

1986, San Francisco, USA, Golden Gate Bridge.

There is a blue sea on both sides, and the long bridge stretches all the way into the fog. It often takes half an hour to walk across this bridge, let alone see further.

The light-colored hat, gray coat, and slender figure make the girl look a little cold, but her long fiery red hair makes her a little more lively, and not far behind the girl is a handsome and cold figure. youth.

From the young man's point of view, this place was too open. If there were any dangerous people, there would be no way to hide. It was a suitable place for sniping, but it was not a suitable place for safe operations. The young man would never come to such a place where murderous intent might lurk, but his female companion was particularly interested in this place and almost dragged her here forcefully.

"Roberts, look there, it looks like a dolphin!"

The female companion seemed to have discovered something. She excitedly grabbed the handsome young man's hand and pointed her slender fingers into the sea.

The young man just glanced at the water elves and replied casually after seeing the water elves.

"oh."

As he spoke, he observed his surroundings again, always alert to possible dangers.

The more he observed, the more he felt that it was really unsafe here, and he once again regretted why he agreed to let Betty come here.

"Roberts, Roberts, look, it looks like there's a shark there."

"oh."

A few sharks are nothing, he has eaten more sharks on the island than the girl has ever seen. The young man was perfunctory and continued to observe the terrain.

"Roberts! Look, look! There is a whale there!"

"oh."

Whales... in the sea... below... Oh, and what if someone attacks from under the bridge? I actually ignored this.

If someone attacks from under the bridge now, can I guarantee that they will all be wiped out? What if instead of carrying firearms, we brought individual firepower such as RPGs... The young man thought for a while and found that he couldn't think of a way.

However, his keen intuition made him feel that someone was watching him.

Turning his head suddenly, he saw a pair of dissatisfied eyes looking at him, and his little mouth was so pouty that it could hang a soy sauce bottle.

"Roberts wasn't even listening to me..."

"I just……"

Looking at the eyes that read "If you don't comfort me, I will get angry." For some reason, Roberts, who was usually taciturn, suddenly had his male survival instinct awaken, and he almost opened his mouth to refute.

"Lie! Liar! Big liar! I'll stab you to death, stab you to death, stab you to death..."

But who would have expected that his opponent raised his eyebrows and didn't listen to the explanation at all. He stretched out his two hands and quickly poked at Roberts' armpits, navel, ribs and other weak spots that are prone to itching and pain. He said viciously while poking back.

Those two weak fingers poked Roberts up and down, extremely embarrassed...

After some rough and tumble play, the weak girl was already out of breath and had a slight blush on her face.

"It's time to go back."

Behind her, the young man urged the girl to go back, but the girl looked at the sea in front of her and shook her head.

"Roberts, let me look at it again. Look, how beautiful it is."

The setting sun gradually sets, and against the quiet and beautiful sunset glow, the sea is reflected like blood and a rainbow.

In front of Roberts, the girl who always loved to laugh and was so happy and angry was looking at the sunset, but her face showed worries that she had never seen in the past.

Under the setting sun, the girl was holding on to the railing. Her slightly trembling eyelashes, fingers so slender that they were almost transparent, and her long and smooth messy hair were like fragile porcelain dolls.

"Roberts, why do you think the sun is setting? Why can't such a beautiful scene stay at this moment?"

The girl looked sideways at the sunset, gently pulled up her hair that was blown by the wind, and murmured in a sad voice.

"Can all the good things in this world just fade away? Will our current happy time eventually fade away like this sunset?"

Just when the girl was feeling sad, her catkins were gently picked up.

Raising her head, the handsome young man held her hand in his and comforted her softly.

"Of course not, we will be happy together forever, Betty, we will be together forever."

Looking at the beloved boy in front of her, the corners of the girl's mouth turned up, and the gloom on her face gradually dissipated. The girl believed him. Just looking at the sunset, the girl still had some inexplicable worry in her eyes.

…

"Betty? What does all this have to do with Betty?"

Roberts couldn't help but said dumbly.

Wendy did not answer directly, but instead started talking about a seemingly unrelated matter.

"Roberts, do you know the legend of the Holy Grail?"

"Know."

Roberts nodded. The Holy Grail, the legendary cup used in the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, is regarded as the most revered holy object. In many European legends, the noble knights regard finding the Holy Grail as their highest goal.

"Actually... the Holy Grail has been found."

Wendy said slowly.

"After Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, a group of devout believers kept the legendary Holy Grail. After that, the believers were displaced and moved to Gaul at that time to escape the pursuit of the Roman Empire. After that, a group of believers in Jesus The warriors of Christ found them and protected the legendary Holy Grail. In order to protect the legendary Holy Grail, the warriors formed a military group to protect the Holy Grail. This military group was called the Order of Zion (Sion)."

"After that, the Roman Empire established Christianity as its state religion, and the Order of Zion once considered making the Holy Grail public, but due to various religious differences, this idea ultimately failed to materialize."

“In 400 AD, the Germans invaded the western part of the Roman Empire, occupied Gaul and other places, and called themselves Franks. Zion would offer the Holy Grail to the Franks, and the Merovingians, the leaders of the Franks, converted to Christianity. , surrendered to the Pope. Another hundred years later, Charlemagne's father Pepin replaced the Merovingian family and became the king of the Franks from the Frank Palace. The Merovingian family, which had sworn to protect the Holy Grail, lost power, and the Order of Zion once again had to protect the Holy Grail alone. safety."

"In the nearly a thousand years since then, the Order of Zion has transformed from a military group into a monastic order led by monks. However, the Holy Roman Empire, the Crusaders, the Knights Templar...the competition for the Holy Grail has continued for thousands of years. , never stopped.”

"The Priory of Sion is sometimes strong and sometimes weak. Masters and elders died frequently. The Holy Grail was almost lost several times, but in the end the safety of the Holy Grail was protected."

"but me……"

Wendy caressed her chest and her face became solemn.

"I am the Guardian of the Holy Grail, the Knight of the Holy Grail, the last lock of the Priory of Sion."

Knight of the Holy Grail...

According to legend, a noble knight who possesses the Holy Grail will be given this title.

Roberts never thought that the girl he watched growing up would have such an unknown identity.

He was silent for a moment and said.

"Since when?"

"Since I was born."

Wendy knew what Roberts was thinking, and he felt that he had been deceived by the person he trusted most.

"Guardian of the Holy Grail, this is a duty inherited by blood, regardless of gender, strength or weakness. Only one person in each generation is given such a duty. Unless the Guardian of the Holy Grail dies and leaves no new heirs, he has to choose from the side line. , otherwise only one of them will be chosen as the Guardian of the Holy Grail."

"When I was ignorant, I was given this mission. It is my lifelong duty to protect the Holy Grail."

As she spoke, she was silent for a moment, and then murmured inexplicably.

"In the past, I have always wondered why the Guardians of the Holy Grail have such strange rules. The Guardians of the Holy Grail don't know why. It seems to be a genetic problem. They are all smarter and stronger than ordinary people. But even so, the Hermit of Sion It would be a little too strange for a family to be the last line of insurance to protect the Holy Grail."

Then, she looked at her hands, looking at the hands that looked like ordinary people, but actually awakened the power of the dragon, and thought thoughtfully.

"But now that I think about it... maybe that's really the case. My ancestors and I may have been valued by the Sion Monastery because of the blood we carry. Maybe in the very early past, my ancestors were related to Sion. The Mountain Priory cooperates and promises to protect the Holy Grail forever.”

The earliest Zion Society was a military group composed of a group of knights. In other words, a group of knights did not choose to slay the dragon as in the legend, but chose to reach some kind of deal with their ancestors who were suspected of being giant dragons?

As time goes by, the descendants of the dragon become no different from ordinary people, but this ancient mission has been passed down.

Perhaps the deceased old master knew the reason for this mission. The past masters of the Sion Monastery seemed to have their own special secrets passed down by them. Therefore, no master has ever questioned this ancient mission, but the truth is no longer known. Know.

As for the legendary story between a group of knights and their ancestors, I am afraid no one will ever know.

"Then what does all this have to do with Betty?"

After hearing this, Roberts still didn't understand Betty's role in it.

Wendy closed her eyes and said.

"The Holy Grail is not a cup. The Holy Grail is alive. The Holy Grail is a living human being."

"Humanity???"

Hearing this statement in astonishment.

Faced with Roberts' astonishment, Wendy asked.

"What do you think the Holy Grail is?"

What is the Holy Grail?

Roberts didn't know how to answer for a moment, and answered after a long time.

“A cup containing wine symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ.”

This is the broadest and most basic interpretation of the Holy Grail. During the Last Supper, Jesus Christ asked his disciples to share the red wine symbolizing his blood and the holy bread symbolizing his body. The wine was filled with and shared one by one. The cup that the disciples enjoyed was the Holy Grail.

Wendy nodded.

"Yes, the cup containing the blood of Jesus Christ. The Holy Grail is a container containing the blood of Jesus Christ, that is... a woman with the blood of Jesus Christ."

"The Holy Grail is the descendant who inherits the bloodline of Jesus Christ."

Without looking at Roberts's expression, Wendy just softly chanted the ancient hymn passed down by the Priory for thousands of years.

This eulogy has been read by Leonardo da Vinci, read by Newton, and read by many, many people. These many people only protect the sacred blood.

"...You are the one who knows destiny, you are the one who sees the secrets, inherits the ancient bloodline, and keeps the eternal loyalty..."

…

"In 1968, a British red-haired girl was born in the UK. This girl was called Betty. Externally, she was declared to be the child of the Master of the Priory of Sion. From her birth, she was protected by the Priory of Sion. Only a handful of people within the Mountain Hermitage know her true identity.”

"The girl spent eighteen years in loneliness. She had no worries about food and clothing, went to a special missionary school to study, enjoyed treatment that even a princess could not enjoy, and lived an extremely privileged life. But she had no friends and was not allowed to do anything dangerous. The streets had to be blocked off when she went out, and all the people who came into contact with her were carefully screened. She was extremely lonely, with only one... guy who she didn't know was a friend to accompany her."

"She envied those children who could play football, climb rocks, and travel, but she could only look at them like this. Everyone thought she was a princess, but only she knew that she was just a prisoner without shackles."

"So one day, she begged me, who was both a guard and barely a half-friend, hoping that she could help her escape from this invisible cage..."

As she spoke, Wendy looked at Roberts in front of her and spoke word by word.

"Then...she met you."