According to the route he knew by heart, Joey soon returned to one of the Order's safehouses. Old Dunling had many places like this, and quite a few stood completely unmanned. Those served as emergency shelters, stocked with medical supplies, preserved food, and a cache of weapons—enough to keep anyone seeking refuge alive for a considerable time.
After exchanging a greeting with the elderly gatekeeper, Joey was finally allowed inside. The Order of Purification's rules had always been this rigid. Familiarity meant nothing. To prevent even the slightest accident, every procedure had to be followed to the letter. The only privilege friendship earned was this: should Joey ever break protocol, the old man would merely shoot him through the leg instead of putting a bullet through his head.
That was how the Order survived.
Only by obeying absolute rules could they deny the darkness even the smallest crack through which to erode order.
Letting out a long sigh, Joey forced himself to cast aside the unsettling events at White Chapel. He steadied his thoughts, pushed open the door, and prepared to return to work.
"You're back?"
The moment the door swung open, an irritatingly familiar voice drifted over, deliberately dragging out the last syllable as though mocking him.
Lloyd had somehow dragged a sofa directly in front of the entrance. Sitting there with maddening confidence, it was impossible to tell how long he had been waiting.
"Lloyd?"
Joey never expected Lloyd to find this place.
And if Lloyd had shown up, it almost certainly meant trouble.
Just as Joey expected, Lloyd gave him no chance to think. He sprang off the sofa before Joey had even stepped inside, grabbed him by the arm, and practically dragged him back outside.
"What are you doing?" Joey asked, utterly baffled.
"Something urgent. Take me to Arthur. It concerns the Book of Revelation."
Footsteps echoed rapidly through the stairwell. The old gatekeeper lazily opened one eye. It was rare to see so many people entering and leaving the building in a single day.
Lloyd waved briefly at the old man while hurrying downstairs.
"Joey, because of your... personal privacy issues, you've already wasted enough of my time. So could you please hurry up?"
Once they reached the bustling street, Lloyd abruptly stopped and looked expectantly at Joey.
"What are you waiting for?"
The mention of the Book of Revelation was enough for Joey to understand the gravity of the situation.
What he did not understand was why Lloyd was staring at him like that.
Several silent seconds passed.
Then Lloyd exploded.
"The carriage! The bloody carriage! We're not walking all the way to the Shattered Dome, are we?"
His frantic pace had completely thrown Joey off. Only now did Joey realize what he meant. Turning around, he headed back through the courtyard behind the building, where several black carriages waited in orderly rows.
"I still say you people should just give me the address of the Shattered Dome," Lloyd complained once the carriage was speeding through the streets. "Every trip is such a pain."
Joey merely shook his head.
"I've rejected that request more times than I can count."
"Impossible, Lloyd. That's our core. Our brain. It has to remain absolutely pure. We cannot allow even the slightest potential threat to exist there."
"So I'm a potential threat now?"
Lloyd smiled as he spoke, but beneath the lighthearted tone lurked unmistakable caution.
What had once sounded like a joke no longer felt entirely humorous.
Joey failed to notice the subtle change.
Though he was one of the High Knights, within the Order—and within all of Ingervig—he was ultimately just another soldier.
Perhaps a slightly more important soldier.
Or simply a more valuable piece of cannon fodder.
The Order maintained information security with uncompromising severity. There were countless things someone at Joey's level simply wasn't meant to know.
"Probably," Joey answered after giving the matter genuine thought.
"Think about it, Lloyd. You're a monster that came back from the dead. If your Geiger readings hadn't stabilized back then, we were fully prepared to level the whole area with another artillery barrage."
The memory was enough to tighten anyone's nerves.
For a brief moment, everyone had truly believed they were standing at the edge of the apocalypse.
Hearing Joey recount it with an almost joking tone, Lloyd stared blankly for a second before slipping back into his usual stream of grumbling curses.
The carriage rolled onward.
Something soon felt wrong.
No one had blindfolded him this time.
No one was guiding him along hidden routes.
"This isn't the way to the Shattered Dome, is it?" Lloyd asked.
"I never said we were going there."
Joey shrugged.
"You know the current situation. The Shattered Dome has been completely sealed off. No one's allowed near it until we're certain nothing can threaten it."
"What about Arthur?"
"He doesn't live there all the time. Meetings only require a room with a table and a few chairs."
Outside the window, the sky darkened into a heavy blanket of gray.
Old dust swirled beneath fierce winds as the desolate wasteland gradually stretched before them.
Lloyd already knew where they were headed.
"Actually, your timing couldn't be better," Joey said.
"Merlin's been wanting to meet you for quite a while. He just never found the time. Looks like everything happened to line up."
Ahead, a colossal gray silhouette slowly rose above the jagged earth.
It resembled an enormous heart forged from steel and machinery, rooted firmly upon the land itself. Every thunderous pulse sent metallic hymns echoing through its countless mechanisms, while rivers of blazing crimson—like molten blood—coursed endlessly through its veins.
"The Institute of Machinery..."
Countless thoughts flashed through Lloyd's mind.
Yet for a fleeting instant, another blurry image intruded upon his vision.
Something unfolded vast wings that blotted out the heavens.
He forced his gaze back into focus.
"So," Lloyd asked quietly, "anything new lately?"
Joey understood exactly what he meant.
"If you're talking about the delegation from Fiorenze, nothing unusual. They've behaved themselves. Either they're meeting officials all day, or sightseeing around the city. So far, they haven't caused us any trouble."
"So the real show hasn't started yet?"
"The real show?"
"Oh, don't play dumb, Joey. You know what I'm asking. They haven't started negotiating with the Order yet? About the demons?"
Joey shook his head.
"I'm just a High Knight. A reasonably useful expendable soldier. How would I know anything like that?"
"If you're so curious, why don't you ask them yourself?"
"Arthur? That old fox won't tell me anything truthful."
"Not Arthur."
"He's not even here."
"According to today's schedule, he's accompanying Father Anthony."
Lloyd blinked.
"Then who exactly am I meeting?"
"The people temporarily running things."
"And Merlin."
"You know how busy everything is right now. Someone has to share Arthur's workload."
Lloyd knew very little about how the Order actually operated.
Still, it made sense.
An organization like this undoubtedly had contingency plans prepared years in advance.
If Arthur died, someone would replace him.
Arthur was still alive.
But one man alone could no longer shoulder everything.
They entered the familiar factory.
An immense heat washed over them, driving away every trace of Old Dunling's bitter cold.
Molten iron cascaded from towering furnaces like waterfalls of fire.
From the elevated platforms, Lloyd could see workers assembling a gigantic skeletal framework.
It looked less like a machine than the fossilized remains of some ancient beast.
"What exactly are you building?"
Lloyd asked with genuine curiosity.
The Institute of Machinery represented the pinnacle of engineering in the world.
Anything born here had the potential to reshape civilization itself.
"Airships."
"Transport airships."
Joey glanced toward the immense frame.
"That's not classified. At least not for someone like you."
"Technology exists to serve war first. That was the lesson the Radiant War taught us."
"But the war is over."
"It's time for those war machines to become productive machines instead."
Towering cranes slowly fitted enormous sections together.
Like assembling a gigantic model, each steel rib locked into place until something savage began taking shape.
Amid showers of sparks and ringing iron, the skeleton of a colossal whale gradually emerged before Lloyd's eyes.
"You remember the Serpent of Midcourt transportation system?"
"Our railways have already reached maximum capacity."
"North Dero Company dominates overseas shipping."
"So now..."
Joey looked upward.
"...it's time we claimed the skies."
"Claim the skies?"
Lloyd chuckled.
"That's a pretty grand ambition."
Yet he couldn't dismiss it outright.
If anyone could accomplish something so audacious...
It would be Ingervig.
After all, airships had existed for years.
This was simply the first serious attempt to turn them into civilian transportation.
"They aren't especially fast," Joey explained.
"But they can cross mountains, marshes, and terrain railways can't reach."
"This is already the second production batch."
"The first fleet will begin trial operations very soon."
"Whether transporting freight, passengers, or simply offering sightseeing tours..."
"People will pay."
"No one can resist the dream of flying."
"And this is also our first real collaboration with private industry."
"Duke Salicado contributed enormously."
Lloyd vaguely remembered the Duke.
The only impression that remained was simple.
Exceptionally wealthy.
The freight elevator slowly descended, hiding the colossal steel whale from sight.
The Institute itself was only camouflage.
Far below lay the Eternal Pump—the true heart of the complex.
Built around the immense Furnace Pillar, countless mechanical systems intertwined to form an entire ecosystem of steel.
As they descended deeper, the temperature climbed relentlessly.
The deafening roar of rushing water returned.
Then came the shrill scream of escaping steam.
Heat and vapor collided, producing thick white mist that billowed endlessly upward.
Every crevice breathed with damp, scorching fog.
Bathed in crimson firelight, the haze grew darker and darker until they reached the deep-red abyss below.
Something suddenly caught Lloyd's eye.
Beyond layer after layer of steel structures, hidden within a narrow gap, freight cars rolled silently along elevated rails.
Familiar iron containers.
Inside them rested something forbidden.
Even through their sealed walls, Lloyd could feel the faint corrosion radiating outward.
"Are those... Old Century Divine Armors?"
"What?"
Joey lacked a demon hunter's sharpened senses.
He never even noticed the containers flashing past behind the machinery.
Lloyd sighed softly.
There was little point asking further.
Soon enough, every mystery would reveal itself.
Unlike his previous visit, the Eternal Pump was now guarded far more heavily.
More soldiers.
More unfamiliar weapons.
The kind that looked liable to explode without warning.
Occasionally he spotted researchers in white coats embroidered with the symbol of the Eternal Ouroboros.
Even these brilliant madmen seemed to have lost much of their former freedom.
Each was accompanied by armed security personnel.
Whether they were being protected...
Or watched...
Lloyd couldn't tell.
While he was still considering the question, several guards approached.
Without explanation, they surrounded him completely.
The gesture made him distinctly uncomfortable.
"Please cooperate."
They immediately searched him for concealed weapons.
"I don't remember this procedure last time."
Although something felt deeply wrong, Lloyd raised both hands without resistance.
"Special..."
Joey hesitated.
"...circumstances."
He sounded less like he was explaining the situation than convincing himself.
The entire atmosphere had become far more severe.
Normally, the resident lunatics were free to test bizarre experimental weapons for amusement.
Now the entire facility resembled a fortress preparing for war.
Everything moved with ruthless military precision.
"Mr. Lloyd Holmes?"
Someone called his name.
Lloyd turned.
A man was walking toward him from the far end of the corridor.
Judging by the respect others showed him, he clearly occupied a senior position.
Yet Lloyd had never seen him before.
Joey, however, recognized him instantly.
His expression subtly changed.
At that moment, everything finally made sense.
The man wore an unwavering expression.
His face possessed the stern certainty of carved stone.
Rather than a living human being, Lloyd found himself looking at a statue given life.
"It's an honor to finally meet you."
"I've heard much about your accomplishments."
The man extended his hand.
The tension hanging in the air eased ever so slightly.
"And you are...?"
Lloyd accepted the handshake cautiously.
"I'm one of the Knight Commanders."
"Gawain."
"For the time being, I've assumed part of Arthur's responsibilities."
The thunder of iron echoed once again.
Lloyd's attention drifted instinctively toward the sound.
Normally he would never have been so easily distracted.
But this time...
He had sensed that strange presence again.
The freight train emerged once more.
The sealed container continued deeper into the tunnels.
Its iron surface was engraved with reliefs depicting ancient gods and demons.
Earlier Lloyd hadn't been certain what lay inside.
Now he knew.
It carried the armor belonging to the man before him.
One of the Old Century Divine Armors recalled from distant fronts to preserve Old Dunling's stability—
along with the knight destined to wear it.
"If there's something you wish to discuss," Gawain said calmly, "you may speak directly to me."
"At present, I oversee this sector."
Arthur had devoted himself entirely to dealing with the troublesome diplomatic delegation.
Much of the Order's daily operations had therefore been entrusted to the Knight Commanders beneath him.
"Or you could simply tell me."
Another voice joined the conversation.
A woman stepped out from behind Gawain.
Without hesitation, she seized Lloyd's hand—which was still hanging awkwardly in midair after the handshake—and shook it enthusiastically.
"Knight Commander."
"Percival."
Behind her, yet another Old Century Divine Armor disappeared along the rails into the deepest reaches of the Eternal Pump.
She smiled warmly.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Lloyd Holmes."