Gun of Ashes

Chapter 64: Chapter 45: The Passport to Life

”Another day has ended...”

Eve leaned against the edge of the balcony, the afterglow of the sunset reddening her face, as servants seeing her whispered among themselves.

They said the Princess of the Phoenix family has finally grown up, carrying a sorrow in her eyes like a teenage girl troubled by love, eagerly anticipating an exquisite romance with a charming young man... What nonsense!

Eve slammed the balcony railing forcefully and stormed back to her bedroom, not wanting to hear the gossip from those servants downstairs anymore.

There must be something wrong with her life! Where is the handsome youth, the only male she’s encountered is that lunatic Lorenzo.

Her worries were about the Secret Blood surging within her body, according to Lorenzo, the Phoenix family must be connected with demons, the so-called Secret Blood requiring purification by alchemy, a technique reportedly known only to the Demon Hunting Order, the mystery hovering over the Phoenix family.

Eve wished to talk to her father, but the butler said Duke Phoenix had left for the Platinum Palace after taking care of Eve and had not returned since.

Lying on the soft bed, looking at the chandelier above, the warm light filled Eve’s entire vision.

It’s been over a week since that insane night, Eve could hardly recall how she got home, though she tried to cover up, but she fainted from exhaustion at the doorstep.

When Eve woke up, she found herself lying in the familiar bedroom, her wounds treated, guards at the door, and from the window, she saw many armed soldiers in the previously empty estate.

According to the butler, Duke Phoenix was furious, even described as outraged, and after he left, the security level of the entire estate increased significantly, and Eve was restricted from going anywhere until Duke Phoenix returned home.

It seems this time her father is truly angry.

Ah... So frustrating.

Eve could already imagine the conversation when he returns, nothing more than marrying her off to some godforsaken island, but this time he will be much more forceful.

Clutching the blanket, Eve turned over, she didn’t want it to end just like this, hoping she could represent the Phoenix family in ascending to the Hall of Manifestation, if possible she wished to uncover the truth about her Secret Blood.

Just like reuniting with a long-lost friend, the nightmare she nearly forgot returned since that mad night.

Eve would unconsciously think of the scene in that nightmare, a woman wailing and struggling, in such pain, her life being drawn from the body, until the monster tore open her body.

This memory of the nightmare was so abrupt, even Eve couldn’t confirm its falsehood or truth, hence human memory proves unreliable, like words written on sand destined to be swallowed by some rising tide, yet it resurfaces like a prank years later, washing the past back onto the shore.

The room’s light flickered for a moment, Eve turned to look at the chandelier above, seemingly a circuit issue, after a few flashes, it plunged into darkness.

Lighting issues are usual, but now Eve had a peculiar feeling, she became unconsciously tense, fixating on the darkness.

These things are just this way, whenever they arrive all the light withdraws.

Footsteps sounded around.

Eve reached for the counter, where a silver revolver was placed, being Bola’s weapon which Lorenzo forgot to take back after that night, Eve kept it.

Filled with ammunition inside, just as Eve was preparing to do something, the pitch-black shadow already enveloped her.

No strength left...

Couldn’t muster any strength...

In an instant, Eve’s breath halted, clearly aware of the entity behind her, wanting to escape yet completely powerless as if frozen stiff in an instant.

It slowly passed by Eve, each footstep a heavy hammer striking Eve’s heart, under the moonlight from outside, Eve could only see a vague grotesque, then countless eyes appeared before her.

It was a face covered in eyes, its crimson pupils oozing that ominous substance, seemingly blind to Eve, eyes spinning erratically, searching for something, but then suddenly all aimed at Eve.

It saw her, letting out a bone-chilling laugh.

”I see you...”

The voice emerged beside her ears, so clear, so genuine.

The frozen body finally moved, the silver Funeral Bell aimed at the demon’s face, but as Eve was about to pull the trigger, the light returned.

Everything vanished.

Eve held the Funeral Bell, pointing at the blank front, familiar as her room, as if all just now were mere illusion.

The eerie revolting darkness disappeared.

Eve collapsed on the ground, large droplets of sweat dripped from her nose, her lungs laboriously expanding, gasping for fresh air.

Rubbing her eyes forcefully, everywhere seemed filled with that bizarre unfamiliarity, perhaps an illusion, perhaps something else.

Spiritual Vision.

The familiar yet strange words rose in her mind, things Lorenzo had mentioned when bidding her farewell. As her connection with darkness deepened, Eve would begin to see some bizarre things, and those bizarre things would see her too.

”What exactly... is happening?”

Slowly standing up, Eve felt the whole world was shaking. She held her forehead, finally collapsing weakly onto the bed. The mental pressure this time far surpassed anything she had experienced before, feeling like a small boat drifting in the tide, seemingly about to be overturned by the next wave.

An inexplicable fear fermented in her heart. Eve knew very well that the Phoenix estate was indeed very secure, but it was utterly defenseless against those demons. Those monsters had already seen her, and she was at a loss.

She sat up, and after contemplating for a long time, her gaze rested on the counter.

A business card lay there quietly at this moment, with words on it that seemed almost magical.

...

”Miss, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

The guards looked at Eve, who was dressed in pajamas. Beneath the pure white nightgown was a lace pattern, her smooth neck stood erect like a swan, and her long hair was let down, cascading with an indescribable allure, as if she were a fairy walking out of the moonlight.

The two gate guards were somewhat flustered. This version of Eve was rare. Usually, Eve carried an air of heroism; even in a dress, there was a sense of ”keep your distance.” But now this cold tiger was like a kitten, anyone would feel their heart skip a beat at her close fragrance.

”I want to go out for a walk.”

Eve said softly in a rare gentle manner.

”The Duke has ordered that you must not leave until he returns.”

”I only want to go out for a walk.”

The girl opened her eyes wide and looked at the guards, her glistening pupils like jewels, difficult to refuse such a girl. If you refuse her, you’d even feel a strange guilt as if you’ve done something wrong.

All along, Eve had been hiding her charm. Despite having such a perfect body, she always shielded it with armor and a police uniform to fend off those scheming suitors.

As the princess of the Phoenix family, the young nobles of Old Dunling all wanted to meet this future duchess. Yet, every meeting ended in tragedy. To ensure her own dreams and freedom, Eve turned each meeting into an incident. Ever since she took the son of a count for a reckless horse carriage ride on the streets, causing the poor kid to break his leg, no one dared to show interest in Eve.

She was an untamable phoenix; rashly approaching would only make you part of the ashes beneath her feet.

”Is this too much to ask...”

As she said this, Eve slightly lifted her gown, causing the guards to be dumbfounded, their thoughts completely interrupted, as if anticipating something, the two of them froze.

But in the next moment, a swift breeze arose. With a muffled thud, one of the guards felt a wave of dizziness. His vision turned over as he fell to the ground. He wanted to say something, but his consciousness uncontrollably plunged into darkness. In his last sight, he saw Eve wielding a chair leg, striking the other guard.

Disguise! It was all a disguise!

At this moment, the other guard’s psyche was on the brink of collapse. This dreadful girl had been scheming from the very start. No one knew how she removed the chair leg and hid it under her dress.

The chair leg in his line of sight kept enlarging. He barely had time to raise his gun to block the attack. Yet, Eve abruptly abandoned the swing and delivered a heavy punch to his abdomen, causing him to retch physiologically. The girl then raised the chair leg and smashed it down again.

”What... happened?”

Another guard came over from the other corner of the corridor. The thudding sound had also caught his attention. The two of them awkwardly locked eyes at opposite ends of the corridor.

The young, beautiful girl stood barefoot in the light, her red hair blazing like fire. Such beauty... if not for the chair leg in her hand, and the two colleagues already unconscious at her feet.

Without giving him much time to think, the girl gripped the chair leg with both hands, drew a deep breath, braced herself, and then hurled it with force.

Another dull thud sounded, and the guard fell straight down, still holding the whistle that he hadn’t had the chance to blow.

Looking at the three guards who had already lost consciousness, Eve tidied her messy hair, exhaled a long breath, and from disguise to attack, everything flowed seamlessly.

Dealing with demons might be tricky, but knocking out a few guards was too simple. The frail girl from a moment ago vanished, the fierce tiger returned.

She stripped the unfortunate ones bare, tied them up, and stuffed them into the closet. Eve adjusted her clothing, pressed her hat down hard to cover her fiery red hair as much as possible, then stuffed a few towels inside her clothes to plump up her somewhat slender body. If no one got too close, they wouldn’t notice any difference.

Lastly, she inserted the silver revolver into the gun case at the back of her waist, everything ready.

She strode out, and it was then that Eve realized she had oversimplified things. Even at night, the estate was surrounded by guards, like a queen’s entourage. They wore dome-shaped helmets, and their long rifles with bayonets pointed at the night sky.

Suddenly, a melodious whistle sounded, and a train slowly pulled into the station, endless steam rising.

The security was extremely tight, and it was difficult for Eve to reach the train. And if she didn’t leave that night, even she didn’t know when the next train would come.

Those demons could already see her; she had to find that damned detective.

Just as Eve was at her wits’ end, she spotted something. In Lorenzo’s words, he called it a ”passport of life.”

Surrounded by dozens of long rifles, Eve brazenly walked towards the train on the platform, carrying a ladder. Due to her unstable center of gravity, she wobbled as she walked, like a plump penguin.