Gun of Ashes

Perhaps due to his inner anxiety, Lorenzo did not notice the gaze from behind; he walked hurriedly within these steel fortifications, his thoughts racing.

At this moment, the scale of death was gradually rising in Lorenzo’s mind, with Dean Lawrence on one side and Lorenzo himself on the other.

He pondered their strengths and weaknesses.

Dean Lawrence possessed the Holy Grail, the ability of Shangdafeng to foresee the future, the power to traverse the [Gap], and the demon group created by the inferior Secret Blood.

Lorenzo had Watson as a Pseudo Holy Grail, Medanzo’s authority, and the assistance of the Purification Mechanism.

Although Old Dunling was Lorenzo’s home ground, they were very passive; Dean Lawrence could strike from the shadows at any moment, or perhaps...he was already here now.

Lorenzo lowered his head, this line of thought was more grueling than ever before, perhaps that’s why he didn’t even realize Red Falcon was walking towards him.

”Lorenzo!”

Red Falcon shouted, observing Lorenzo’s unusual demeanor.

”What’s wrong?”

Lorenzo looked up, furrowing his brows.

”I happened to be looking for you; this is a custom-made weapon for you, designed to minimize Holy Silver consumption.”

Red Falcon said as he handed over an iron box; this was Lorenzo’s requested order. He found his Nail Sword was wearing out too quickly.

Lorenzo reached out and received the box; it was heavy.

He was somewhat surprised at the speed of production, though not entirely unexpected given the Mechanical Institute’s mature production line and industrial level; failure to achieve this would be surprising.

Lorenzo didn’t rush to open the box; there were other tasks to attend to next. He and Red Falcon proceeded shoulder to shoulder to another meeting room; here, they would plan the battle proposal. But to ensure it wasn’t compromised by Dean Lawrence’s strange [Gap] traversal, they would only discuss a portion of the plan. Only Lorenzo and Arthur knew the full scope.

However, it seemed they arrived a bit early, as only Lorenzo and Red Falcon were present.

Thus, Lorenzo directly opened the box here, curious about what kind of weapon they would make for him, given the box size wouldn’t fit a long weapon like a blade.

”What’s this?”

Lorenzo picked up the weapon inside the box; it was a slightly long sword hilt, without any blade to speak of. On the hilt were some complex indentations, as if they could be opened.

More strangely, it was very heavy, seemingly made from special metal; an ordinary person would struggle just holding it, though it was manageable for a Demon Hunter.

”Folding Blade.”

Red Falcon said, taking over the weapon, which was almost unbearable for him.

”It’s a standard weapon from the Purification Mechanism, but we’ve specially modified it for you.”

Blue Jade’s specialty was this weapon, with high concealment, hidden under clothing, impossible for an average person to detect its presence.

As Red Falcon spoke, he triggered a mechanism, accompanying a flick of the hand; the grip split open, ejecting a second segment of metal, and upon closure of the grip, a third segment from inside the second was ejected. In a flash, the length of the Folding Blade was stretched threefold.

After the deployment, with a light sound of metal, internally the mechanism engaged, fixing the Folding Blade securely.

”Considering the high-intensity battles of Demon Hunters, we used more robust metal for casting. Of course, the downside is increased weight, and to save Holy Silver, it’s only plated on the blade’s tip.”

Red Falcon displayed the weapon, akin to a work of art, with intricate patterns carved into the blade. The patterns on the three sections combined like surging waves.

Lorenzo had heard of these people’s quirks; even killing weapons had to be crafted elegantly.

This was what Nikola once told him.

He asked Lorenzo if he had imagined that, when everyone was dead, hundreds of years later someone might discover all this, how those people would see it then.

Initially, Lorenzo didn’t quite understand Nikola’s words, but afterward, the scholar explained it to Lorenzo.

Hundreds of years later, perhaps demons would be eradicated, perhaps the Purification Mechanism would be gone, even Ingwig might be extinct.

If there were still people then, upon discovering the history of the Purification Mechanism, how would they think?

Would they mistake us for gods from myths, wielding exquisite weapons to battle demons?

Just like ignorant people think that praying would bring rain, would there be people in the future who worship us?

Nikola’s sickly face looked very unpleasant when he smiled, he said that for such a future, things should have a touch of mythical flair.

”Of course, primarily it’s about concealment and portability, along with these.”

Red Falcon gestured Lorenzo to look inside the box, which held several blade tips plated with Holy Silver, all equally meticulously crafted, dense patterns engraved upon them.

”If a battle damages them and you have time, you can replace the blade tips yourself. If not needed, you can still use them as flying knives to throw.”

Lorenzo picked one up to play with, casually waving it; the heavy Folding Blade felt as light as a feather in his hand, leaving a pale mark in the air before settling back into his grasp.

It was indeed well-hidden, and its weight was heavier than the Nail Sword.

”Is this the art of mechanics?”

Storing the Folding Blade, hiding it beneath his clothes, it was completely concealed, much easier than hiding a Staff Sword.

”It’s merely the art of killing.”

Red Falcon shook his head, then sat in a chair to the side.

”I truly envy you Demon Hunters’ strength; I find it exhausting just to wield.”

He sighed, in Lorenzo’s hands, the Folding Blade seemed weightless.

This reminded him of the Ende Town operation; he fell once and laid in the hospital for almost half a month, whereas Lorenzo, despite being heavily injured, was lively as a rabbit the next day after a night’s sleep.

Arthur mentioned that Demon Hunters have an absurdly long lifespan; living up to two hundred years without accident isn’t an issue.

Truly enviable.

”This is not a good thing, Red Falcon.”

Lorenzo seemed accustomed to such gazes, eyes filled with envy and longing.

Red Falcon did not understand what kind of price would be paid. He looked at Red Falcon and asked seriously.

”Do you think I am still human?”

The question was sudden, Red Falcon froze, the gray-blue eyes reflected his appearance, as if he was facing himself.

”Human?”

Lorenzo nodded and packed up all the knife heads in the box, neatly inserting them into the knife bag.

”Do you think a wild dog that runs faster than a train and can bite through steel is still a wild dog?”

An oddly intriguing description, Red Falcon paused and slowly said.

”That is... a monster, right?”

That kind of thing shouldn’t belong to a wild dog, it’s practically a beast let loose from a cage.

Lorenzo’s lips curled slightly as he continued speaking.

”Then, is someone who can tear apart demons by hand and live longer than everyone else still human?”

Red Falcon was stunned. He didn’t know what to say for a moment, belatedly trying to explain.

”That’s not what I meant.”

”It’s okay, actually, it’s easy to compare these things.”

Lorenzo said calmly.

”Within the Order, there was a saying: Only demons can kill demons.”

Mere humans stole that forbidden power, drank the sinful blood, so the burning Secret Blood surged within the body, while the cold Silver Binding Bolt imprisoned everything.

To kill demons, become a demon.

”If you can’t beat them, join them...”

Lorenzo spoke cynically, equipping all his weapons, the loose clothing perfectly concealing them.

”So, many things have a price, it’s just not yet time for you to pay...”

Lorenzo thought a bit, speaking with a hint of smile.

”Consider it a debt of fate.”

It was an odd feeling, Red Falcon suddenly felt some sympathy for Lorenzo.

Then came an innate ridicule, who was he to feel sympathy for Lorenzo? This was an unrivaled warrior capable of wreaking havoc within demon hordes, the pinnacle of human combat strength in society, even if he only ate and slept, he would still outlive everyone.

Yet there was... suddenly a sense of sadness.

”After this matter is over, if you’re interested, you can visit the Perpetual Motion Pump; they always have some experimental weapons impossible to mass-produce due to various reasons, but arming a few people is feasible.”

Red Falcon tried suggesting something else.

There, you could list hundreds of methods to kill targets, but only a few could be applied on the battlefield.

”I think I will.”

Lorenzo sat on the other side too, footsteps echoed from outside, it seemed everyone was gathering.

But just as those footsteps reached the door, a sudden noise appeared.

It seemed someone had fallen, Red Falcon didn’t pay attention, but Lorenzo felt something, he rushed out of the meeting room, and at the doorway, lay a soldier.

At this moment, Lorenzo was in a high state of alert, no anomaly could be overlooked.

”What happened?”

Red Falcon followed out, seeing Lorenzo half-kneeling on the ground, attempting to help the soldier up.

”Wake up!”

Lorenzo slapped the soldier’s cheek, trying to awaken him, but his eyes remained shut, seeming to have passed out.

Suddenly, a strange sensation surged through his hand, somewhat hard, seemingly metal, Lorenzo removed it from the soldier’s nape, with faint blood soaking.

”This is... your so-called ’insurance’, right?”

Lorenzo asked cautiously, then slowly raised his hand for Red Falcon to see the object clearly.

A charred neural electrode, with traces of blood, frequently used as a fail-safe device by the Purification Mechanism, which activates and releases current when the human body suffers significant erosion.

But now, it had been activated.

”He has been eroded...”

”But this is the Mechanical Institute!”

Red Falcon said incredulously.

”True, against ghost-like enemies, what use is a fortress, no matter how secure?”

They were invisible foes, weaving between gaps in consciousness.

Lorenzo stood up, his eyes grave.

”Notify Arthur, Dean Lawrence is here, plan ahead!”