Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 220 The First Chapter 21 The Greatest Secret of the Hermitage
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA, 1986.

On both sides is the azure sea, and the long bridge stretches into the mist. It often takes half an hour to walk across the entire bridge, let alone see anything further.

Wearing a light-colored hat and a gray coat, the girl's slender figure made her look slightly aloof, but her fiery red hair added a touch of vibrancy. Not far behind the girl was a handsome and indifferent young man.

In the young man's view, this place was too open, offering no hiding place for any dangerous individuals. It was a suitable spot for sniping, but not for safe operations. The young man never came to places like this where danger might lurk, but his female companion was particularly interested in it and practically dragged him there.

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

The female companion seemed to have discovered something, and excitedly grabbed the handsome young man's hand, pointing her slender finger towards the sea.

The young man merely glanced at them, and after seeing the water sprites, he casually replied.

"Oh."

As he spoke, he looked around again, remaining vigilant for any potential dangers.

The more he observed, the more unsafe he felt this place was, and he regretted once again agreeing to come here with Betty.

“Roberts, Roberts, look, there looks like a shark over there.”

"Oh."

A few sharks are nothing; he's eaten more sharks on that deserted island than the girl has ever seen. The young man brushed it off, continuing to survey the terrain.

"Roberts! Look, look! There's a whale over there!"

"Oh."

Whales...in the sea...below...right, what if someone attacks from under the bridge? I can't believe I overlooked that.

If someone were to attack from under the bridge now, could he guarantee that he would annihilate them all? What if they weren't armed with firearms but rather with individual weapons like RPGs...? The young man pondered for a moment and found that he couldn't come up with a solution for the time being.

However, his keen intuition told him that someone was watching him.

Turning her head abruptly, she saw a pair of disgruntled eyes staring at her, the little mouth pouting so much it could hang a soy sauce bottle.

"Roberts isn't listening to me at all..."

"I just……"

Looking into those eyes that seemed to say "I'll get angry if you don't comfort me," Roberts, who was usually quiet and reserved, suddenly felt his survival instincts kick in, and he almost opened his mouth to retort.

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

But to everyone's surprise, her opponent raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring any verbal explanation, and immediately stretched out both hands to quickly poke at Roberts's armpits, navel, and ribs—areas prone to itching and pain—while simultaneously uttering vicious words.

Those two not-so-strong fingers poked Roberts so hard he was jumping up and down, looking extremely disheveled...

After a bit of playful fighting, the girl, who was not in good physical condition, was panting and her face was flushed.

"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 take another look. Look how beautiful it is."

As the sun gradually sets, the sea is reflected in the serene and beautiful sunset, appearing as red and rainbow-like as blood.

In front of Roberts, the girl who was always smiling and whose every joy and anger was exceptionally natural, now looked at the sunset with a worry on her face that she had never seen before.

In the sunset, the girl leaned against the railing, her slightly trembling eyelashes, her slender, almost transparent fingers, and her long, soft, disheveled hair making her look like a fragile porcelain doll.

"Roberts, why does the sun have to set? Why can't such a beautiful sight stay in this moment?"

The girl turned to look at the setting sun, gently tucking her wind-blown hair behind her ear, and murmured in a melancholy voice.

"Is everything beautiful in this world destined to vanish? Will our current happy moments also eventually disappear like this sunset?"

Just as the girl was feeling downcast, her delicate hand was gently taken.

She looked up, and the handsome young man took her hand in his and whispered words of comfort.

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

Looking at the boy she loved, the girl's lips curled up, and the gloom on her face gradually dissipated. She believed in him. However, gazing at the setting sun, a hint of inexplicable worry still lingered in her eyes.

……

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

Roberts was speechless.

Instead of answering directly, Wendy started talking about something that seemed unrelated.

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

"know."

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

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

Wendy said slowly.

"After the ascension of Jesus Christ, a group of devout believers preserved the legendary Holy Grail. After that, the believers were displaced and migrated to Gaul to escape the pursuit of the Roman Empire. Later, a group of warriors who believed in Jesus Christ found them and protected the legendary Holy Grail. In order to protect the legendary Holy Grail, the warriors formed a military group called the Sion."

"After that, the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its state religion. The Zionist Order once considered making the Holy Grail public, but due to various religious disagreements, this idea ultimately failed to materialize." "In 400 AD, Germanic tribes invaded the western Roman Empire, occupying Gaul and other regions, and calling themselves Franks. The Zionist Order offered the Holy Grail to the Franks, and the Merovingian family, the leaders of the Franks, converted to Christianity and submitted to the Pope. A century later, Charlemagne's father, Pepin the Conqueror, replaced the Merovingian family, becoming King of the Franks from the position of Mayor of the Palace. The Merovingian family, who had sworn to protect the Holy Grail, lost power, and the Zionist Order was once again forced to protect the Holy Grail alone."

"In the nearly thousand years that followed, the Zionist Order transformed from a military group into a monastic order dominated by monks, but the struggle for the Holy Grail by the Holy Roman Empire, the Crusaders, the Knights Templar, and others continued for a millennium without ever ceasing."

"The Priory of Sion is sometimes strong and sometimes weak. Masters and elders have died frequently. There have been several times when they almost lost the Holy Grail, but in the end they managed to protect it."

"but me……"

Wendy touched her chest, her expression becoming solemn.

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

Holy Grail Knight...

Legend has it that noble knights who possess the Holy Grail are given this title.

Roberts never imagined that the girl he watched grow up would have such a little-known identity.

He paused for a moment, then said.

"When did it start?"

"From the time I was born."

Wendy knew what Roberts was thinking; he felt betrayed by the person he trusted most.

"The Guardian of the Holy Grail is a duty passed down through bloodlines, regardless of gender or strength. Only one person in each generation is given this duty. Unless the Guardian of the Holy Grail dies without leaving any offspring, and a new offspring must be chosen from the collateral line, only one person will be selected as the Guardian of the Holy Grail."

"When I was still young and naive, I was given this mission: to protect the Holy Grail as my lifelong duty."

She paused for a moment, then murmured something inexplicably.

“In the past, I have never quite understood why the Grail Guardians have such strange rules. For some reason, it seems to be a genetic issue, that the Grail Guardians are all more intelligent and stronger than ordinary people. But even so, it is rather strange that the Priory of Sion would entrust a family as the last line of defense for the Grail.”

Then, she looked at her hands, at those hands that seemed no different from ordinary people but had actually awakened the power of a dragon, and said thoughtfully.

"But now that I think about it... perhaps it really is so. My ancestors and I may have been valued by the Priory of Sion because of the bloodline we carried. Perhaps long ago, my ancestors cooperated with the Priory of Sion and promised to protect the Holy Grail forever."

The earliest Zionist Order was a military group composed of knights. In other words, a group of knights did not choose to slay dragons as in the legends, but instead made some kind of deal with their ancestors who were believed to be dragons.

As time passed, the descendants of the dragons became no different from ordinary people, but this ancient mission has been passed down through generations.

Perhaps the deceased master knew the reason for this mission, and the masters of the Priory of Sion seem to have their own special secrets passed down through generations. So no master has ever questioned this ancient mission, but the truth is now unknown.

What kind of legendary story existed between a group of knights and their ancestors? Perhaps no one will ever know.

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

Even 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."

"Humans???"

I listened to this statement in astonishment.

Seeing Roberts' astonishment, Wendy asked in return.

"What do you think the Holy Grail is?"

What is the Holy Grail?
Roberts was momentarily at a loss for words, but after a long pause, he finally replied.

"A cup containing wine that symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ."

This is the most widespread and basic interpretation of the Holy Grail. During the Last Supper, Jesus Christ had his disciples share red wine, which symbolized his blood, and the Holy Glory, which symbolized his flesh. The cup containing this wine, which was shared among the disciples, was the Holy Grail.

Wendy nodded.

"Yes, the cup containing the blood of Jesus Christ. The Holy Grail is a vessel containing the blood of Jesus Christ, which means... a woman who carries the blood of Jesus Christ."

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

Without looking at Roberts' expression, Wendy simply murmured the ancient hymn that the hermitage had passed down for thousands of years.

This hymn has been recited by Leonardo da Vinci, by Newton, and by countless others, all for the sake of protecting that sacred bloodline.

"...You are the one who knows the mandate of heaven, you are the one who has glimpsed the secret, you inherit the ancient bloodline, and you uphold the eternal loyalty..."

……

"In 1968, a British red-haired girl named Betty was born in England. She was publicly known as the child of a master of the Priory of Sion. From birth, she was protected by the Priory of Sion, and only a very few people within the Priory knew her true identity."

"The girl spent eighteen years in solitude. She had no worries about food or clothing, studied at a special church school, enjoyed treatment that even princesses could not enjoy, and lived an extremely privileged life. But she had no friends, was not allowed to do anything dangerous, had to block the streets to go out, and everyone who came into contact with her was carefully selected. She was extremely lonely, with only one person... who could not be considered a friend, keeping her company."

"She envied the children who could play football, rock climb, and travel, but she could only watch. 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 her guard and, to some extent, a friend, to help her escape from this invisible prison..."

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

"Then...she met you."

(End of this chapter)