Gun of Ashes

The Hound...

Lorenzo, fully armed, leaned by the window, which was the highest point of the manor, offering a panoramic view of the outside.

The Stuart family’s territory was in the south, and within Old Dunling, they had no fiefdom, so the place where Selyu lived was a mansion in the Inner City District. It was originally a temporary residence for Duke Stuart to meet the Queen. Due to multiple reasons such as waiting for the inheritance ceremony, Selyu stayed here for an extended period.

Lorenzo always thought ancient manors in the wilderness were the ideal setting for horror stories. In such terrain, the inside and outside were relatively enclosed, like a secret room, only much larger.

But now the story was set to unfold in the Inner City District. Run inside, and there’s the Forbidden Guard’s garrison; run outside, and it’s Cork Street. If he ran faster, Lorenzo could even take this rather unnecessary investor to visit the company she invested in. Within the fortress-like Mechanical Institute, not even the strangest of hounds—or perhaps even demons—would last a moment against the firepower.

Picking up the Winchester nearby, Lorenzo loaded it one bullet at a time, the metal clang faintly sounding as they collided. The single bullet, cast entirely from Holy Silver, was kept on him—his ultimate weapon.

As he prepared his armament, Lorenzo contemplated his stockpile of weapons.

The Nail Sword was damaged in battle with a demon, and given tonight’s situation, Lorenzo had no time to return to Cork Street to fetch a new one. Actually, the weapon itself wasn’t vital; what mattered was the Holy Silver. Ultimately, the Nail Sword’s uniqueness was simply due to a coating of Holy Silver.

This mysterious metal, capable of suppressing demons, was running low, worrying Lorenzo. Even though Merlin was trying to analyze its composition and mimic it, Lorenzo didn’t have high hopes.

The things from the Evangelical Church always gave him a strange feeling, as if they were impossible to replicate. They had mastered some core technology, and until that was understood, everything others did was merely a poor imitation.

After organizing his weapons, Lorenzo picked up the Knight’s Sword. Since the advent of modern rifles, such cold weapons had become more of a status symbol than an actual weapon. However, against demons, they never outdate.

”So, have you quieted down yet, Lorenzo?”

A voice suddenly came from the other side; there was another person in the dim room.

Selyu was lying in bed in her pajamas, speaking to Lorenzo, who was continuously making noise.

”I’m protecting you.”

”But I also need to sleep,”

Selyu replied.

The girl’s face was weary. As sleep approached, her cold little face finally relaxed. She was merely an ordinary person, unlike Lorenzo, whose willpower as a Demon Hunter allowed him to engage in intense battles day and night. Knowing an enemy was present, Lorenzo felt no sleepiness but was somewhat excited.

It was like a conditioned reflex: humans salivate at the smell of delicious food, and Demon Hunters get excited at the scent of demons.

After a brief discussion, Lorenzo decided to stay and meet the mysterious hound. To ensure no accidents, Lorenzo temporarily resided there.

”Alright, alright. I hope you don’t sleep too soundly.”

Lorenzo said as he put away his weapon and stood up.

At that moment, Yawei was patrolling the mansion with a hunting gun, while Lorenzo was responsible for nearby protection. The eerie curse carried a maddening illusion, and no one knew whether the hound would indeed come or what form it would take.

Nobody knew; waiting was the best answer.

The Demon Hunter blended into the room’s darkness, silently. If not for the extreme quiet, where one could faintly discern another weak breath, Selyu might have thought she was the only one left.

Lorenzo knelt on the ground, the Winchester and Knight’s Sword laid across his knees. He closed his eyes, letting his senses expand to the maximum. Like floodwater, it quietly spread over the floorboards, seeping through door cracks, little by little, until it reached the limit.

After the silence came endless sounds.

The sound of steam billowing from street pipelines, the ticking clock, Yawei’s somewhat heavy footsteps, and Selyu’s gentle breath and heartbeat.

”Lorenzo?”

In the darkness, the girl suddenly spoke again.

”What’s up?”

Lorenzo opened his eyes. She hadn’t drawn the curtains, and the outside light allowed Lorenzo to barely make out her form.

”I suddenly can’t sleep,”

”You’re not going to ask me to tell you some damn bedtime story, are you?”

Lorenzo furrowed his brows.

The girl laughed at this.

”No way! You telling bedtime stories—Demon Hunters and the Seven Damned Demons?”

Selyu teased.

”A Demon Hunter chasing seven unlucky demons; don’t be like that, Lorenzo, it’ll give me nightmares.”

”Then let’s switch it up. How about I tell you about a little demon looking for its mom?”

Lorenzo followed Selyu’s lead, spouting nonsense.

”The little demon found someone, ’Hey! Are you my mom?’”

He pinched his throat, making a high-pitched imitation.

”Hmm? Kid, I’m not your mom; I’m your Uncle Demon Hunter!”

”Then do you know where my mom is, Uncle Demon Hunter?”

”Of course, Uncle knows, come with Uncle, and I’ll take you to your mom.”

”Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Lorenzo was narrating a tasteless, awful story, something no normal person would like. The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

But in this awkward silence, there was an extra sound, as if it couldn’t be held back. Across the way, Selyu let out a burst of laughter. Although it wasn’t visible, Lorenzo guessed that she was now happily rolling on the bed.

So what’s wrong with kids these days, enjoying such damn stories?

Lorenzo shook his head, unable to help but harbor a pessimistic view of Ingwig’s future. Letting such an unlucky kid become the Duchess of Stuart?

”Lorenzo, you know? You can be quite funny sometimes.”

The girl boasted.

”I have to thank my acting teacher for that.”

Lorenzo couldn’t help but recall the days of auditing classes at the Royal Academy of Arts.

”That acting teacher was a playwright before he started teaching, an avid comedy enthusiast. In his class, as long as your performance could amuse him, you’d get high marks... I always felt like he was using us like monkeys for his entertainment.”

”What was his name again?”

Lorenzo couldn’t quite remember, but he thought it was something like Oscar.

That was truly a chaotic classroom.

”Sounds great, I’m sure he must be a very happy person.”

Selyu said slowly.

Then everything fell into silence again. A shadow blocked the dim light outside the window, and Selyu instinctively drew the short dagger from under her pillow, but then the voice rang out.

”Are you scared?”

Lorenzo stood by the bed looking at Selyu. At this close range, the darkness could not hinder the Demon Hunter’s vision.

”Not really.”

Selyu replied casually, putting down the short dagger. From her deft movements, it was clear that this weapon had been hidden under her pillow for quite some time.

”Selyu, have you heard this saying?”

Lorenzo suddenly asked.

”What?”

”A doctor is hard to heal himself.”

Not waiting for Selyu to think further, Lorenzo suddenly plopped down on the bed. Selyu instinctively clutched the blanket, ready to call Yawei in to shoot this lunatic, but a hand precisely pinched her face in the dark.

As if intending to crush that cold shield, the pain left Selyu defenseless.

”So isn’t this good?”

Lorenzo examined the girl in the darkness.

”Laughing, crying, even telling cold jokes... it’s much more comforting than your usual icy demeanor.”

As if holding a grudge, Lorenzo found his opportunity for a comeback.

”I mean, Selyu, you see through people so easily, so... do you understand yourself?”

”Because of the demons, I might be somewhat ’inhuman,’ but why did you become like this? Your peers are much happier than you.”

Lorenzo couldn’t help but think of Eve; the two of them weren’t much different in age and always found themselves compared.

”Or is the shadow of childhood so severe that even the honor and nobility of Stuart cannot make you forget?”

Selyu trembled slightly, raising her head to look at the dark silhouette; she knew very well what Lorenzo was referring to.

”Yes, I’ve taught you that without close people, enemies have no leverage to threaten you. The more indifferent you are, the harder it is for others to gauge your character, to know what you’re thinking... But that’s for the Demon Hunter. Why are you like this? You are the mistress of Stuart, backed by thirty-two powerful families, so what exactly are you afraid of?”

Lorenzo picked up the short dagger, the sharp metal glinting in the darkness.

The Duke of Stuart wouldn’t hide weapons under the pillow; only a child of the streets would do so.

”Just as I taught you, grip everything you can tightly, even if it’s a stone; maybe it can smash the chains.”

”Are you trying to smash the fear of the unknown?”

The Demon Hunter seemed to see everything clearly, unveiling the skylight, dragging the girl’s soul out, shining in the sunlight, transparent and clear.

”No, I’m just...”

Selyu wanted to say something, but suddenly the words seemed to freeze in her throat, unable to say anything.

She anxiously wanted to defend herself, as if it were some humiliation, completely reversing her cold attitude, but just like losing the function of speech, she could only let out meaningless murmurs, until suddenly the sound of barking rang out.

Everything seemed to fall silent again, Selyu slowly turned her head, not knowing when the room’s door had been pushed open, followed by a cold wind carrying knife-like snowflakes rushing in.

Selyu instinctively hugged Lorenzo tight, but felt only a patch of air. She grasped nothing, her hands pressed against the cold, muddy ground, shattered ice shards reflecting her desolate face like countless mirrors.

The barking rang out once again; it was the Death God pursuing.

Frightened, the girl turned around, familiar scenes appearing before her eyes. She remembered this place, a place she would never forget, and in the direction of the sound, at the end of the dilapidated alley, an ordinary stray dog was quietly watching her.

Its pupils were crimson, as if blood could drip from them, then its crowded canine teeth jutted out, as if it were smiling at her.