Gun of Ashes

The fiery flames intertwined, molten iron like bright raindrops fell and scattered. The neutralizing liquid pooled on the ground, rising in scorching steam under the high temperature, making the lights bloom in a haze, two figures fighting, dancing in the misty light.

The knight charged through the corridor, leaping high, the nail sword in his hand descending like a thunderous punishment, cleaving the object before him in two.

In this narrow space, the demon had no room to evade, it could only passively endure this lethal sword strike. Under the scorching holy silver, Lorenzo’s blow once again heavily injured the demon, yet it was still not enough.

Grotesque wounds that healed slowly were left on the flesh, the hot blood like flowing magma, with just brief contact, the tip of the nail sword was already slightly reddened.

At this moment, the demon’s terrifying vitality was fully revealed. Lorenzo’s attacks could harm it, but not kill it. The thick flesh was the best plate armor; even if the nail sword entirely pierced it, it seemed to not reach its heart.

The more troublesome issue was the temperature of the internal organs. The demon’s body was like a blazing furnace. The armor activated by authority could, to some extent, isolate the heat, but Lorenzo’s nail sword could not. He even thought if the nail sword stayed inside longer, it would melt from the inside.

The child-like screams continued, hoarse and relentless, as if a poor soul were trapped inside the furnace-like body, only able to howl helplessly.

The water on the ground boiled with the demon’s arrival. Lorenzo could only raise the Winchester in his hand, continuing to shoot, the spinning bullets blasting chunks of flesh from the twisted body, trying continuously to delve deeper.

”Yes, just like that, come a bit closer.”

Lorenzo seemed to be guiding the demon, firing to draw its attention while retreating backwards.

He needed an open area. The narrow corridor restricted both the demon and Lorenzo. Perhaps from another angle, he could deliver a fatal blow to the demon.

The entire space was hot and oppressive, sweat pouring down like a steam oven.

”This is Arthur, please respond if you receive this!”

Suddenly, a familiar voice came through the communicator. Although the interference from the electrical noise was chaotic, Lorenzo still heard it clearly enough.

”Hey, it’s your dear Mr. Holmes here, Arthur. I’m cleaning up the mess for you.”

Shooting while replying casually, within this hellish furnace, Lorenzo was as relaxed as if mingling in the streets of Old Dunling.

”It’s the first time I’ve been happy to hear your voice, Mr. Holmes.”

Arthur’s voice sounded again, somewhat unclear due to the electrical interference.

”That kind of comment is a bit hurtful.”

Lorenzo casually spoke like that without considering the situation, making the oppressive atmosphere a bit lighter.

”So Arthur, what did you do? Where did this damn thing come from?”

Asked while hooking his hand in the guard ring, completing a reload in a spin, like an elegant executioner.

Lorenzo had a reason for preferring the shotgun. Ordinary firearms couldn’t severely damage demons in one hit, but the savage firepower of a shotgun was different, with scattered rounds having a peculiar effectiveness. Coupled with its wide area of damage, even if the demon moved swiftly, it could increase the hit rate.

”Remember the serial killer related to poor quality Secret Blood? He appeared when Dean Lawrence did, but we captured him.”

Shooting again, the demon was like a wall of flesh, slowly advancing.

”You didn’t tell me these things.”

Lorenzo was slightly dissatisfied. By rights, Horner was his prisoner.

”It’s alright, you should see him now, there’s still time for interrogation.”

Arthur also jokingly brought up a lame topic.

Looking at the grotesque creature with its nauseating form, Lorenzo slowly said.

”I think it might not be communicable anymore… so how did it become like this, this damn thing wasn’t created by poor quality Secret Blood.”

In conversation, the demon also attacked, continuously increasing in mass during its battle with Lorenzo. The body became more bloated, to the point that even Lorenzo found it hard to discern its form, only a mass of high-temperature flesh that could move.

A twisted arm extended from the mass, but facing the swift demon hunter, the attack seemed slow-motion in his eyes. Lorenzo turned and wielded his sword, applying all his strength to the nail sword, slicing through the air to directly hit the twisted arm.

Cut through flesh, cut through bone, the scorching holy silver and ignited purifying flame maximized the damage, like cutting through butter with a hot knife, severing the arm in response.

Scalding blood splashed out, further heating up this already oppressive space.

Purifying flame burned on the bloated flesh, but it wasn’t long before it was covered by rapidly proliferating flesh. The difficulty of handling this thing exceeded imagination.

”About how it became like this, I’m not sure. Originally, we intended to study it, trying to find information on poor quality Secret Blood, but after removing it from the containment cube, it awoke, and the temperature kept rising.”

”What about your invincible modern firepower? Even demonization requires time, why didn’t you kill it at the first opportunity?”