Gun of Ashes

About ten minutes later, the pitch-black carriages filled the street. Those people were armed to the teeth, each sporting a cold and indifferent expression, like distant Death Gods, carrying an icy chill akin to the winter of Old Dunling.

Many officers were driven to the other side of the street. They were supposed to be inside the police line, but now they were outside it, looking curiously at those mysterious figures.

Old Dunling has many urban legends, and those mysterious figures are one of them.

Many times, people would say there are black-clad police handling mysterious cases, and no one knows which department they belong to. Even when asking Suyalan Hall, they answer with silence.

But now they’re really here in front of them, bearing an ominous aura. Sheriff Donas also stood outside the police line, with a face full of coldness.

He had some understanding of this mysterious department, but it was just a vague notion. He guessed it might be a secret intelligence department of Ingwig, but Donas didn’t even know their name or what they truly were.

When they arrived, they presented Sheriff Donas with some documents he couldn’t understand and drove them out.

Sheriff Donas wanted to protest, but a young man stopped him. That man wore a benevolent smile, but it wasn’t reassuring; instead, it was sinister, like a cunning fox.

It’s hard to describe that feeling; the whole body’s instincts trembled in fear. By the time Donas came to his senses, he was already outside the police line, drenched in cold sweat, then filled with a humiliating anger. He wanted to settle the score with that man but didn’t dare cross the police line. How laughable.

As for Mr. Lorenzo Holmes, Sheriff Donas didn’t see him either. It seems he was driven out too, which made Donas feel a bit better.

...

”So you’re the one assisting me this time?”

Lorenzo sat in a chair in the room, carefully observing the bloody words. The cunning fox-like man stood at the door, looking polite.

”Yes, Mr. Lorenzo Holmes.”

The voice was clear as he answered.

Turning his head, he was a very handsome man. His demeanor, even his smile, was just right. Whether it was his hairstyle or clothes, everything was neatly arranged with not a trace of disorder. His face was clean, like a noble wild cat.

For a moment, it seemed Lorenzo saw a few big words on this man’s face.

Obsessive, Clean-freak, Troublesome person...

Many people have their own labels, just like Lorenzo, who constantly threw smoke bombs at Sabo during their chess game.

Teachers represent education. The word conjures up thoughts of stern yet gentle teachers, so when you tell someone you’re a teacher, they associate you with the traits of that profession, whether it truly reflects who you are or not.

Thus, by merely stating your profession, you form a rough image in the other person’s mind, even if it isn’t the real you.

This is the inherent label of people, making it easier for others to understand you, yet causing you to hide your true self.

So when Lorenzo demonstrates his deceptive arts, he likes to use labels as smoke bombs to confuse others. But he rarely met someone like this.

He almost directly pasted the labels on his face, leaving a deep impression.

”Because of the different responsibilities, Bola is very busy, and in the upcoming negotiation with the Purification Mechanism, I will be the one responsible for contacting you.”

Saying this, the man extended his hand, and Lorenzo nodded and shook it.

”Joey Joshua, we’ve met before. Just the battlefield was too chaotic then, so you might not have seen me.”

”When?”

Lorenzo was a little surprised. He shouldn’t easily forget someone with such personality.

”Ende Town Operation, but I was using a codename then.”

Joey coughed a few times, then transformed from serious to even more serious, continuing.

”Upper-Rank Knight of the Purification Mechanism, Joey Joshua, codenamed Mystic Phoenix.”

Hearing ’Mystic Phoenix,’ Lorenzo remembered everything. At the end of the Ende Town operation, in the channel, he and Lancelot descended on the battlefield together. Lorenzo had an impression of that codename.

”Now that I’ve introduced myself, would you like me to explain the situation to you?”

Lorenzo said this while turning his head to look at the scarlet words.

”This is... an extraordinary case. There’s demonic contamination here, very faint, probably remnants from the crime.”

Lorenzo thought for a moment and decided to describe the case this way. The perpetrator is not human, or perhaps he once was, but now he’s an abominable demon moving through the vast, densely populated Old Dunling.

”Hmm, can we inspect it first?”

Joey nodded, and after getting Lorenzo’s permission, a few more people entered the room, carrying strange instruments, constantly surveying the area.

”What are they doing?”

Lorenzo couldn’t quite understand their actions and asked Joey.

Joey smiled, then slowly said,

”Mr. Holmes, over the years, our Purification Mechanism has dealt with many demonic cases, which has equipped us with some tracking abilities. After all, we didn’t have Demon Hunters here a decade ago.”

Listening to him, Lorenzo felt a sense of enlightenment, realizing that without Demon Hunters, the Purification Mechanism could still defeat demons. Over time, they developed a complete and mature work process internally.

”Those instruments are high-precision Geiger Counters, accurate enough to discern the intensity of residual radiation from demons in the area, to determine how long they stayed.”

The indexes on the instruments kept changing, and Lorenzo found it intriguing. He began to realize the difference between the Demon Hunting Order and the Purification Mechanism.

The Demon Hunting Order leaned towards the mystical, solving everything through the Demon Hunters’ strength and the ephemeral god, while the Purification Mechanism advocated technology, exploring the essence of the mystical, analyzing it, and making use of it.

”How far can you track?”

Lorenzo asked again.

”Not far, as there are many interference factors with this thing, and it requires detailed investigation, which takes time. By the time we trace it, the demon could probably swim across the ocean, but we have a certain predictive capability internally.”

”Predictive capability? Like the Secret Blood of the Demon Hunters?”

Lorenzo had just praised these materialists, never expecting more mystical elements to emerge.

Within the Demon Hunting Order, most Demon Hunters have a warning power called ’Intuition,’ but a branch of them exaggerate this power to the extreme.

This is processed through the Alchemy Matrix, turning the power of the Secret Blood towards the Angel Shangdafeng branch of Demon Hunters. Their abilities allow them to foresee a brief image of the future, making them a very mysterious branch of Demon Hunters. They rarely go out to fight but provide guidance to other Demon Hunters through the Static Holy Temple based on their bizarre predictive ability.

Joey smiled mysteriously but said no more.

”Mr. Lorenzo, if you are willing to join the Purification Mechanism, all your questions will be answered.”

Indeed, that Arthur still held onto him.

”No, that won’t be necessary.”

Lorenzo decisively declined.