Gun of Ashes

In the quiet space, countless bookshelves surrounded the huge round table. Lorenzo sat on one side, while Arthur and Merlin sat far on the other side, as if the distance between them was unreachable.

The nostrils were filled with a musty smell, speaking of the antiquity here, like a silent chant of a minstrel, telling a tale.

Lorenzo leaned back on the chair slowly, feeling somewhat surprised and a little shocked.

Alchemy, a word nearly lost in the river of history, it is the most secretive wisdom of the old era. Every alchemist guarded their knowledge with their life, recorded in cryptic codices on cursed parchments, which meant that when they died, no one could decipher them anymore, so the glorious alchemy gradually vanished with the change of times and the stubbornness of the alchemists.

Now this technology is only faintly mentioned in some folklore, and there are not many people in the world who truly understand it.

But now, a living alchemist is sitting right in front of him, who is also the chief of perpetual motion pump technology.

Lorenzo had long set aside his disdain, with a grave expression, clearly understanding the value of an alchemist.

”So, the one who truly wants to see me... is you?”

Merlin nodded, his hoarse voice rang out.

”To be precise, it is because of your deduction. Joey has already recounted your thoughts, and we believe it is a possibility.”

Possibility, this was what Lorenzo and Joey discussed at 121A Cork Street earlier.

According to Joey, there have been demons committing crimes in Old Dunling during this period, and judging from the course of actions, it was clear that the demon retained its sanity.

The Geiger Counter couldn’t detect the demon’s actions; it’s like Lorenzo, as long as the Secret Blood calmed down, there wouldn’t be any demonic corruption. In other words, the demon that’s been active might possibly be a Demon Hunter.

At that time, both Lorenzo and Joey thought of this. Such a matter was no small thing. The strength of Demon Hunters could be seen from Lorenzo’s power alone, and after Lancelot’s pursuit, everyone judged that the demon was already dead. However, subsequent reports from the Cleaner Squad showed that they did not find the demon’s corpse in the steam well.

So is there a possibility that the one committing the atrocities is a Demon Hunter? Only a Demon Hunter could evade the Peeping Tom System’s surveillance. Only a Demon Hunter could withstand so many attacks and not die, even saying that in the steam well, he didn’t die, just calmed the Secret Blood and left from another place.

An unknown Demon Hunter appeared in Old Dunling, coupled with the new Pope of the Evangelical Church and the news of rebuilding the Demon Hunting Order, it was all so spine-chilling.

”It’s only a possibility.”

Lorenzo said affirmatively.

”That thing wasn’t a Demon Hunter, at least not one from within the sequence of the Demon Hunting Order.”

”Do you have any internal means of identifying them?”

Arthur asked slowly.

”It’s not about identification methods; most Demon Hunters are dead. Even if there are survivors, they would hide obediently, rather than do some ghastly revenge massacre.”

Lorenzo candidly said, after the Night of the Holy Arrival, he once thought he was the last Demon Hunter, but apparently, he wasn’t the only lucky one.

”Besides, if it really was a Demon Hunter, he wouldn’t commit such atrocities. Within the Order, we have many methods to interrogate heretics. If the only goal was to make someone feel pain, it would be unnecessary to go to that extent.”

The Demon Hunting Order was never a place of holy radiance. To reach their objectives, the deep dungeons were stacked with the corpses of people.

Arthur fell silent; he didn’t continue to question Lorenzo about the Demon Hunters. He also knew, Lorenzo wouldn’t speak of anything related to the Night of the Holy Arrival.

”Then if it’s not a Demon Hunter, could it be someone who can to some extent control demonization?”

The silent Merlin spoke, and Lorenzo turned his eyes to him, his expression slightly cold.

”That’s basically impossible as well; Demon Hunters are essentially a group of people who can freely control demonization. But to achieve this, the Evangelical Church conducted centuries of experiments to stabilize the Secret Blood, not to mention implanting the Silver Binding Bolt and Alchemy Matrix technologies.”

Some say one can infer the strength of a nation from a sharp weapon. This principle applies to Lorenzo as well. The secrets displayed by the Demon Hunters at this moment were like the deep blue sea, giving a glimpse into the vast, bottomless depth of the Evangelical Church.

”But there are exceptions.”

Lorenzo spoke once more.

For a moment he suddenly thought of someone, a desperado who fought all his life for survival.

Lorenzo rarely had a deep impression of a person, but Sabo was one of them. He struggled to recall his features, but the blood-stained mask always appeared in his mind, accompanied by those venomous words as if cursing the whole world.

”I have won everything in life, but just a little more, just a little more...”

Lorenzo couldn’t help but shiver.

The deformed dwarf possessed a willpower beyond ordinary imagination, fighting for survival, even the inferior Secret Blood couldn’t completely consume him.