Gun of Ashes

The heavy iron doors opened one by one in front of Lorenzo. After informing the Red Falcon that something was amiss, he proceeded all the way forward, heading to the front of the train where Bola was located.

Lorenzo’s intuition had been warning him, even though such things were mysterious and elusive, he was certain that relying on it had allowed him countless times to narrowly escape death.

His hand constantly rested on the hilt of his sword, vigilant towards every soldier around him.

Based on his experience at the Demon Hunting Order, for missions involving demons, the Order sought elite power, ending the battle with the fewest Demon Hunters. Once the situation deteriorated, having too many personnel would only increase their risk of being corrupted, leading former comrades to turn into enemies.

On any level, this would be a heavy blow.

”Bola! Respond if you receive this!”

Between the gaps of two carriages, Lorenzo leapt onto the roof, where he could observe more.

”Lorenzo? What’s wrong?”

Bola’s voice mixed with the crackling of static from the channel, barely discernible.

”Something’s not right, the demon is still near us!”

An endless gale rushed from the front, Lorenzo stood atop the carriage, everything in his vision was a profound darkness, with no second light source apart from the headlamp at the very front.

Someone once said the world is an unknown ocean, and humans live as isolated islands upon it. All humanity can do is eke out an existence there, for setting sail into the mad sea awaits only obliteration.

”The Geiger Counter isn’t reacting at all...”

”That thing is unreliable.”

Lorenzo cut off Bola’s words directly.

”You should know, right? Some characteristics of the demons, like when they arrive, ’light’ briefly disappears. And it’s not just the light we understand, but concepts like sunlight, lamplight, starlight—those vanish too!”

Sprinting along the roof, his steps landed on the steel, producing a heavy iron-clanging sound.

”Then what about your Geiger Counter? What’s its detection range! What if those demons are outside its detection range!”

Inside the carriage, Bola, still adjusting weapons, momentarily stalled upon hearing Lorenzo’s words.

Yeah, how far is the Geiger Counter’s range? If the demon is outside the detection range...

”What’s wrong, Bola?”

Beside him, Blue Jade noticed Bola’s abnormality, with a hint of inquiry.

But Bola didn’t intend to answer Blue Jade’s question for the moment. He raised his hand to signal Blue Jade to be quiet, then immediately asked.

”Have you noticed any signs?”

”Of course, don’t you think tonight is exceptionally long?”

Lorenzo faced the relentless gale, gazing eastward, where the sun should have risen, yet it remained pitch black.

His memory was excellent. As a Demon Hunter, he experienced more peculiarities than the Purification Mechanism could ever know. To this day, Mrs. Van Rudd’s map was still imprinted in his mind.

”What’s the time now!”

Lorenzo inquired.

”3 AM.”

Listening to the response from the communicator, Lorenzo remained silent for a moment, then retrieved the pocket watch in his hand, whose hands currently pointed to 4 AM.

”Bola, you can confirm the time is correct, right?”

He asked, and from the communicator came a burst of static, seemingly Bola was cursing something. Without needing him to answer, Lorenzo already knew what had happened.

”Bola, based on my experience as a Demon Hunter, there’s good news and bad news right now.”

Lorenzo said with some reminiscence.

”Temporal distortion has occurred. Reality, even our senses, have been somewhat warped and eroded... which means we’re approaching a significant source of pollution, so vast that it created all of this.”

As if recalling something else, Lorenzo continued.

”Bola, check those Geiger Counters one last time. I suspect they worked briefly, but upon getting close, they reached a critical radiation threshold and broke.”

This was the only conclusion Lorenzo could deduce, but there was no response from the communicator, only that crackling static, as if countless souls were wailing in that eerie channel.

As Bola said then, this damned communicator was being interfered with, cutting off the connection between Lorenzo and them.

It was the train; they were currently approaching that source of pollution at an extremely high speed, with no chances left to turn back.

Looking at the darkness ahead, an invisible and massive force already shrouded here. Everyone was presently enduring the erosion of that willpower. But this time, the owner of that force was clever, gradually heating the water until it reached a boil, scalding everyone before they could realize what was happening.

A sudden chill on his cheek, Lorenzo instinctively gripped the sword tightly, and with his other hand gently brushed over, feeling cold water droplets.

The next moment, a torrential downpour lashed against the pitch-black train, like cold steel needles piercing Lorenzo’s skin.

And so, the scroll of Hell slowly unfurled before his eyes.

It was a bizarre interface, as if the rain were a waterfall, and the train traversed through it, stepping into the storm, unveiling another world before them.

Without much thought, Lorenzo swung his sword sharply, pinning it against the carriage to stabilize himself. Yet he was still a step too slow; enormous tentacles surged up from the dark earth below, violently battering the carriage, providing almost no time for Lorenzo to react as the twisted flesh engulfed him in an instant.

His pupils swirling with searing white flames, Lorenzo, as a Demon Hunter, had faced more ferocious situations than this. The sharp sword blade sliced directly through the twisted flesh, but just as it was about to sever it completely, unforeseen events occurred beyond Lorenzo’s expectations.

Viscous flesh proliferated rapidly from the cut, and in an instant, both Lorenzo and the swiftly moving Radiant were engulfed.

On the earth, more tentacles surged up, entwining the train, bringing it to a halt. The soldiers had no time to fire before a more substantial erosion affected their minds directly.

This was a premeditated attack; within the brief moments of a few breaths, the entire train fell silent.

The soldiers were ensnared by the warm flesh, Bola and Blue Jade lay amidst web-like tentacles, and Lorenzo was simply plunged into the deepest void.

The steam engine roared powerlessly, yet it had already been firmly nailed to the ground, with only the chilling rain continuously pouring down, as if the entire ocean had been overturned.

This eerie silence persisted for an unknown length of time. All channels were silent, and a ghostly green light rose slowly from the end of the darkness.

In the deepest part of this bizarre scene, a girl slowly pushed open the carriage door. In the violent collision that had just halted them, she nearly fainted. When she came to, the carriage was filled with that pink flesh, no matter how she shook it, Red Falcon remained asleep and did not awaken.

Eve gazed at this eerie world, apart from the sound of raindrops, seemingly only she was left. The immense, still tentacles stood like mountains upon the earth.

It was as if she had been abandoned by the world, the only one awake.