Gun of Ashes

”So why didn’t you try to contact Suyalan Hall at the beginning? This demon acts with such purpose, logically those detectives would be of greater help, right.”

The carriage had become Lorenzo’s temporary office, where he and Joey sat, the small folding table piled with information about the deceased.

”There are many reasons. Our Purification Mechanism has a dedicated investigation team, but this is the first time we’ve encountered a rational demon, and the reason for not involving Suyalan Hall is simple: the crime scenes were tainted with the demon’s erosion, and ordinary people would be affected.”

Joey spoke slowly; in the fight against demons, the strangest aspect is the maddening invasiveness, like foreign monks whispering incessantly in your ear until you go insane.

Those who can handle demon incidents are mostly trained; even when facing the bizarre, they can maintain their sanity. The upper-rank includes specialized knights like Joey, who can truly face demons directly.

Absurd loathing, incomprehensible to mortals, unfathomable.

Lorenzo picked up the files, with the cold wind of Old Dunling streaming into the carriage’s crevices, casually flipping through them. Based on the identities and social standings of the deceased, a shattered story pieced together in Lorenzo’s mind.

The first victim was Rowe, a man nearing forty from a city outside Old Dunling. Like many who come to work in Old Dunling, he initially had a decent job at a factory, but due to drinking on the job, he was fired and eventually ended up in the Lower City District, becoming a gang member, not a core figure but just an ordinary member.

He was found dead in his home, subjected to immense torture before his death, with revengeful blood writing left by the killer in his house. That was the first time the Purification Mechanism detected the demon’s actions, as the erosion remained, the Geiger index inside the house always staying high.

This was the origin of the incident, the demon’s first target for revenge.

Lorenzo pondered; actually, much hidden information could be deduced from the first victim, just like when Lorenzo had investigated matters before. This first person definitely knew something, and the demon located the remaining people from his words.

The second victim was named Doron, similar in age to Rowe, and from the files, they were hometown friends who came to Old Dunling together to strive for success. He worked at a store and had visited Rowe several times after Rowe’s unemployment.

The cause of death was basically the same, found gruesomely dead in his home, the second target of the demon’s revenge.

It was indeed as Lorenzo suspected; the demon only knew Rowe’s location at first. During the torture, it found the locations of the others, then took revenge one by one, and Rowe and Doron were connected as hometown friends, so the demon is very likely also from their hometown.

”They came from... Borhans.”

Reading the last page of the file, Lorenzo was somewhat surprised. These two people’s home was Borhans, Ingwig’s largest industrial city, where the renowned Borhams Military Factory is located.

But this prompted another doubt in Lorenzo’s mind; it’s an immensely large industrial city with no shortage of jobs and opportunities for riches, so why did these two come all the way to Old Dunling?

With such doubts, Lorenzo opened the file of the next victim.

The following victims were the Ed couple, exactly the case Lorenzo participated in at the invitation of Suyalan Hall.

Mrs. Ed was the woman who died tragically in that bloody house, while Mr. Ed was discovered by Lorenzo during the pursuit. They were originally a couple but had temporarily separated due to arguments, yet not too far apart, which also explained why the demon continued its crime after killing Mrs. Ed.

The last victim discovered today was Hughes, the gang leader of the Lower City District.

Lorenzo felt a headache. What he needed to do now was piece together the connections between these people. Although their social standings and roles differed, they must intersect somewhere, and that intersection is why the demon listed them in its revenge.

Lorenzo then asked.

”Are there no witnesses?”

After committing multiple brutal crimes, Lorenzo couldn’t believe the demon could act seamlessly; surely someone saw it.

To this, Joey shook his head in disappointment.

”That’s the tricky part of demons. We do have some witnesses who directly saw the demon, yet surprisingly, the demon didn’t kill them. The result is that these witnesses suffered severe mental trauma and are currently recovering in the hospital, unable to yield any information.”

The demon’s bizarre invasiveness remains a major barrier in combating it.

”What about indirect ones? You mean no one even observed the traces it left after departing?”

Lorenzo asked once more.

”No, strangely, after it’s done, no matter how we trace, we can’t find any tracks, can’t even list suspects.”

Joey answered Lorenzo’s query; the Purification Mechanism indeed possesses some capability in investigations, yet in subsequent tracking, they still lack clues, seemingly as if the demon could appear freely anywhere in Old Dunling.

”Appear anywhere, without raising anyone’s suspicion.”