Gun of Ashes

Countless snowflakes fell from the sky, swirling chaotically, drifting past the dilapidated buildings, passing the old clock tower in the center of the town, blown by the wind until they landed on the girl’s face, leaving a faint trace of water as they melted.

It’s unbelievable, Selyu was a bit dazed. She had once again returned here, that place deep in her memory.

The human brain subconsciously protects itself, forgetting those unpleasant things, even if they are profound, it will deliberately forget them, sighing once the will recalls them again, that all this had passed so long ago.

But now, after so long, Selyu has returned, or maybe those forgotten things have come looking for her.

The cold wind surged in the alley, a stray dog watched her from afar, emanating an eerie and detestable ominousness, but it did not attack rashly; instead, it quietly watched Selyu, as if appreciating some drama, its expression so human-like, as if hiding someone’s will inside.

Before Selyu could think further, a hand suddenly grabbed her hair, lifting her up.

”I’ve finally found you.”

The person said, the heavy clothing exuding a smell of alcohol.

”How much money did you make today? If it’s not enough, you won’t have dinner.”

Dragging Selyu along the ground, the girl tried scratching his hand, but it had no effect.

His steps were unsteady, he seemed to have drunk too much.

Selyu remembered these things, followed by anger, she struggled hard, but the hand was like iron, unwavering, and she couldn’t change anything despite using all her strength.

”Lo... Lorenzo!”

Selyu shouted, as if hoping for something.

She didn’t know what’s happening or why she’s here, but now it seemed shouting for Lorenzo was all she could do.

Selyu hoped fervently, believing in that Demon Hunter, that he would come to save her, just like at the beginning or when Dean Lawrence did, he always showed up when crisis struck.

But it was useless, in this long alleyway, no one responded to her call.

Then bizarre thoughts surged uncontrollably into her mind, even Selyu didn’t understand why, she was thinking, what if Lorenzo didn’t exist?

What if the person named Lorenzo Holmes never found her in the first place? What if he had taken someone else from Gaulunaro instead?

A life staggered, with terrifying echoes.

Selyu suddenly dared not think further, extreme fear surged from the depths of her heart, eroding her.

The stray dog at the end of the alley, which she was being dragged towards, was still there, gazing silently, its crimson reflection capturing this cold world.

Everything felt so familiar, followed by a blur of memory.

She was about to forget something, memories began to collapse, Selyu tried her best to remember those about to be erased memories, but it was all in vain.

”Stop... stop!”

An invisible force swept through her memories, tearing all the recorded pages apart.

Finally, a complete blank.

Amidst the intense pain, Selyu slowly released her struggling hands... She started forgetting how she got here.

Her hands drooped to the ground, as if giving up resistance, dragged along the muddy ground.

Suddenly that dust-covered childhood rushed entirely into her mind, burying past experiences, Selyu’s demeanor subtly changed, then she seemed like another person, letting the drunkard drag her away.

She remembered living here all along, as a beggar, like many others yearning for Old Dunling, but she couldn’t get there, only stuck in this border town of Gaulunaro.

But suddenly, something didn’t feel right, Selyu had impressions of Old Dunling, only spoken of by others, like she had been there.

A dream?

Selyu thought, then recalled more, but they were shrouded by some mysterious power, making them blurry, like memories in a dream, fictitious memories.

She suddenly let out a bitter laugh, indeed, she was thinking of unrealistic things again.

Slowly raising her hand, it was covered in frostbite and dirt, unlike in those vague memories.

Selyu remembered being so noble in the dream, many surrounded her, showing loyalty...

Yet something felt lacking, it seemed something would happen today.

She didn’t even care about the pain on her hair, gazing at the sky.

What would happen?

In reality, it seemed nothing could change Selyu’s situation, her identity as a beggar, the plight of being trapped.

Thus the entire world began to transform, white snow melted into black water, first the buildings and withered trees, then everything in view, all transforming, flowing as black water over the ground.

The hand grasping her hair also twisted, human flesh began to expand, bones proliferated and grew, finally bursting out of the heavy clothing.

But none of this alerted Selyu, or rather, she could no longer perceive these ”anomalies”.

Her gaze was somewhat dazed, icy pupils reflecting the dog that trod upon the black water.

The dark water flooded over her body, nearly engulfing her completely, the next moment the dog leapt up forcefully, its terrifying fangs lifting, its entire mouth corner split open and continuously expanding, as if to swallow Selyu whole in one gulp.

But suddenly that slender hand felt something in the black water, rough and hard, like a stone.

No time to think, or whether Selyu even had the ability to think now was unknown, but suddenly a voice rang out, shouting, halting everything.

”Wake up!”

The splattered black water scattered into countless floating black particles, the twisted figure of the stray dog so close, clear and visible.

”Wake up!”

The familiar voice rang out again, and this world collapsed.

Selyu sat up forcefully, breathing heavily, as Lorenzo steadied her, with a blazing flame flickering beneath those gray-blue eyes.

”I... what happened to me?”

The pain in her mind was intense, like being violently hammered with a blunt tool.

”You almost scared me to death!”

Ignoring Selyu’s question, Lorenzo screamed.

He only wanted to teach this overly mature little girl a lesson, but who would have thought that halfway through, Selyu would suddenly freeze and then fall into a coma.

”Wait... what’s going on?”

Selyu breathed forcefully, not only feeling the pain in her mind but also in her chest. She thought about it and then lowered her head, her collar pulled open, revealing a white expanse with some bloodstains.

”Florun Potion, I injected you with that stuff, Merlin said it’s used to counteract erosion.”

Lorenzo directly fastened her clothes tightly, not giving Selyu a chance to react.

When leaving, Merlin noticed Lorenzo’s poor mental state, so he gave him a potion. After the Ranger Project, the degraded Florun Potion could help humans resist erosion and enhance mental resistance, indirectly helping him to perk up, but he didn’t expect it to be used here.

”I... why is my heartbeat so fast?”

Selyu clutched her chest; she could clearly feel the thumping heartbeat, like a steam engine at full power, and she was even a bit short of breath.

”It should have certain stimulant components. You know, generally speaking, using this potion means you’ve already been eroded, close to death.”

Lorenzo said anxiously.

”Erosion? What is that?”

Selyu asked laboriously, now struggling just to breathe.

”You’re not a good investor, not even familiar with the top product of your competitors!”

Lorenzo picked her up in one go, grabbed the Winchester hanging at his waist, wielded the knight’s sword, and broke through the door.

Sure enough, Arthur hadn’t said much to Selyu about the more complex side of demons, which he hadn’t revealed.

”In any case, you’d better stay quiet for a while, and closing your eyes would be better still; you surely don’t want to see everything strange cut into pieces.”

”What do you mean?”

Selyu’s voice was somewhat weak; the Florun Potion forcibly dragged her out of that dream. Her body, not specialized for this, had difficulty enduring the potency of the potion.

”Demons, strange demons... .”

”What about Yawei?”

Selyu was concerned about the old butler.

”I guess he’s somewhere having a nightmare.”

Lorenzo bit into a cigarette, said through gritted teeth, ”Do you have such a big cigarette addiction?”

Selyu looked very weak, her voice blurred as if murmuring after drinking too much.

”I’m just relying on this to stay awake; after all, there’s only one Florun Potion... Damn it, why didn’t Merlin give me a few more.”

Lorenzo cursed, and in his vision, the corridor became incredibly long and twisted, seemingly endless.

He lifted his foot to kick the window open, looking down from there, the street no longer existed, replaced by an endless abyss, looking up, the mansion’s walls extended all the way to the sky above.

Like a nightmare descending to reality, the illusion and reality overlapped, entangled, and tortured the people in between.

This feeling was too familiar, the anomaly capable of large-scale mental distortion.

Nightmare Illusion.

The illusion was already affecting Lorenzo’s mind; fortunately, the resistance of a Demon Hunter was relatively high. He didn’t fall into the dream like Selyu, or it would have been more troublesome.

”I have to find it.”

Lorenzo muttered, this was a demon’s attack, an attack targeting Selyu.

A moment of thunder flashed through Lorenzo’s mind, and upon realizing it was a Nightmare Illusion, he suddenly understood the whole incident’s full picture, all of it.

The details forgotten by everyone linked the entire event together.

”Selyu, you’re in big trouble.”

Lorenzo said to the girl in his arms as he sprinted down the long corridor.

”Of course, before solving this trouble, I first have to find that damned Dream Builder.”

Then kill it.