Gun of Ashes

”I didn’t expect you to have normal social friends.”

Selyu closely followed behind Lorenzo, weaving through the narrow train carriage.

”What’s the matter?”

Lorenzo said without turning his head.

”Just feeling you are out of place in this world.”

”That’s natural. I’m not a demon, but I’m also different from humans... I’m someone living in the gap, in the crevice between two worlds.”

Lorenzo laughed with a touch of self-mockery.

”Surprised? To be so clear about one’s position.”

Selyu didn’t speak, just nodded. She wasn’t sure if Lorenzo could see her.

In her eyes, Lorenzo was like a magnet for trouble. The friends he made were either some kind of mafia boss or a secret organization. It was hard to imagine such a person having a normal social circle.

”There’s much you don’t know, Selyu, like what’s about to happen next...”

Lorenzo said as he reached into his coat with his right hand.

”What?”

”Don’t be afraid.”

Lorenzo replied.

The conductor in white was walking in the middle of the carriage, and though the space was fairly wide, when two people were passing in opposite directions, it became quite crowded, requiring someone to give way.

But Lorenzo had no intention of yielding. The demon hunter’s gaze quietly fixed on the conductor, and as they got closer, only a flash of white light could be seen blooming inside his coat. With the clash of metal, the sharp folding blade flicked out instantly, giving no time to react, and then fiercely slashed down.

Selyu was stunned, and at that moment, the surrounding passengers were also stunned.

The blade of the folding blade directly cut diagonally along the conductor’s shoulder, cleaving through his neck and throat. The chilling sound was clearly heard... metal directly sliced through the spine within the flesh.

Blood gushed out like a small spring, dyeing the white backrest red. The conductor’s terrified gaze was fixed on Lorenzo. He clutched the horrific wound with one hand, seemingly trying to say something, but his entire throat was torn apart by that powerful strike, leaving only the sound of frantic breathing.

”I could smell your scent from afar.”

Lorenzo wiped the blood off his face, his gaze icy cold.

The inferior Secret Blood, even through several carriages, Lorenzo could clearly detect it.

Ever since discovering that the intruders were Exiled People, Lorenzo had been on alert, but he hadn’t expected that despite hiding and sneaking away the entire journey, he hadn’t escaped them. These guys had followed him onto the train.

Finally, the folding blade pierced from top to bottom, penetrating both the head and heart, preventing any chance of demonization.

This was a brutal execution, and the body convulsed before collapsing, blood flowing over everyone’s feet.

After a brief silence came frantic screams. The surrounding passengers were all thrown into chaos, some started fleeing to the next carriage, some cried, and some summoned the courage to confront Lorenzo, the murderer, but lost their nerve under his cold gaze.

The whole scene turned chaotic, with the heavy scent of blood in the air and the terrifying sight of death right before Selyu’s eyes. She gripped Lorenzo’s hand tightly, her face pale.

She didn’t understand why Lorenzo had suddenly gone mad, but the trust accumulated over the years made her believe in Lorenzo... In fact, besides sticking with Lorenzo, there seemed to be no other option.

”Let’s go.”

Lorenzo said.

Despite the chaos, no one dared to stand in Lorenzo’s way. That sharp folding blade was in his hand, dripping with blood.

The crowd scattered, but within it, Lorenzo easily found his target, throwing the folding blade directly. A passenger who hadn’t yet fled was nailed to the seat, and before he could do anything more, brilliant white flames burst from his body, burning through the shell with agonized screams.

Lorenzo then leisurely walked over, retrieving the folding blade as he passed. In the glow of the flames, Selyu clearly saw the blade hilt covered in barbs.

This folding blade was custom-made for Lorenzo. The handle had small barbs, causing the blood drawn to flow down the grooves to the blade.

”Stop hiding, come on out.”

He said.

In the demon hunter’s vision, no matter how inferior the Secret Blood was, it was still Secret Blood. Like a spark of fire in the darkness, even the tiniest ember couldn’t escape attention.

Suddenly, he swung the folding blade, turning fiercely, grabbing Selyu with one hand. The girl was directly pulled up, while the folding blade slashed down, killing a passenger who had approached Lorenzo from behind without him noticing.

The Holy Silver-covered blade tip sliced through the skull, cleaving down the body, splitting it in half.

Twisted organs and blood gushed out, like a slaughterhouse.

Selyu tried her best not to look at it. She knew very well that Lorenzo didn’t need to be this brutal, but it was as if he was venting anger, ruthlessly killing every Exiled Person.

Lorenzo wasn’t sure what Dean Lawrence had promised them, nor why they accepted the Secret Blood, but he didn’t care. These people were all enemies, and enemies were simply to be killed.

The passengers who could escape the carriage had already fled, making the space somewhat emptier, and more Exiled People flooded in.

The ordinary people weren’t their targets. Their target was only Lorenzo, or more precisely, Selyu behind Lorenzo.

Gripping Selyu tightly with one hand, he swung the folding blade, fighting fiercely.

In this not-so-spacious area, the swing of the folding blade was quite restricted. After a brief moment of fear, an Exiled Person finally reacted, pulling out his handgun to shoot at Lorenzo. But before he could pull the trigger, a Nail Sword came whistling through the air, piercing his skull, pinning him to the wall, followed by a burst of brilliant white flames.

”Such a nuisance...”

Lorenzo frowned, raising the Winchester from his coat, and pulled the trigger. The scattered pellets swept across the carriage.

Thanks to humanity’s instinctual fear, those still left in the carriage were likely all enemies. Therefore, Lorenzo didn’t care about collateral damage. The metal pellets entered the bodies, their carried energy causing them to stagger back a few steps, followed by more gunshots, shattering one skull after another.

Even the Exiled People had found their positions, which meant Dean Lawrence wouldn’t be far. Thinking of this, Lorenzo couldn’t help but feel a headache, and then quickened his pace.

A flash of sword light stopped him in his tracks.

The man gripped his sword, ready to strike Lorenzo. As the blade came down, Lorenzo raised his beloved shotgun. The blade struck the barrel, unable to descend further.

Lorenzo cursed under his breath, attempting to kick the man away, but the man stepped back and evaded Lorenzo’s attack. He quickly advanced again, the sharp sword light falling once more.

This was troublesome.

Lorenzo sidestepped to evade, releasing Selyu’s hand in the process.

The man appeared furious, seemingly because Lorenzo had killed many of his comrades. But Lorenzo did not care about that. He even found it amusing, for now, there was only one man left fighting him.

The exiled people watched him with terrified eyes, which greatly satisfied Lorenzo.

Sometimes death would stir anger in others, but deaths too cruel would invoke fear. They all feared Lorenzo, except for this man before him.

”You’re not bad,”

Lorenzo said, swiftly reaching out his hand like lightning.

The descending sword tried to retract, but Lorenzo grasped it with a powerful grip, as if it were locked in steel. The man couldn’t pull back the blade.

Blood trickled down the sword’s edge. Before he could react further, a cold sensation touched his forehead.

Winchester was pressed against his head, and then the blood exploded, with foul-smelling slime splattering everywhere.

This was a nightmare more terrifying than demons. Someone finally screamed in despair, unleashing gunfire upon Lorenzo. Yet, the demon hunter lifted the body of the man in front of him, using it as a shield, and charged toward the edge of the carriage.

He pulled the folding blade embedded in the wall—a flurry of severed limbs followed.

Having dispatched the remaining enemies, Lorenzo turned back and reached out to Selyu, who stood amidst the blood.

”Time is running out, we need to hurry,”

But this time, Selyu did not react. She looked at the blood-covered hand, struggling to suppress her nausea, trying hard not to vomit.

”You... more than demons, are like a demon.”

She said with some difficulty.

”Perhaps,”

Lorenzo seemed indifferent to this comment. His demeanor was strangely urgent, as if something was about to happen.

Regardless of Selyu’s will, Lorenzo grabbed her and continued towards the back of the train.

Opening the door, the people in the next carriage wore faces of terror. It was evident that with Lorenzo’s entry, everyone became frightened, trapped with a monster.

As if ignoring their gazes, Lorenzo coldly said,

”Move aside.”

No one moved, but when Lorenzo raised the bleeding folding blade, a gap wide enough for two people opened up.

”Devil!”

An old woman collapsed in fear, crying out.

Endless murmurs arose, discussing the terrifying monster.

But Lorenzo acted as if he couldn’t hear them. There was no need to listen to what they said—they understood nothing.

Right, they knew nothing of what was happening.

Like lambs within a fence, their perceived world was limited to within the fence.

Among the crowd on both sides, someone suddenly moved. Lorenzo sensed the rushing killing intent. With his reflexes, he could strike them down before they attacked, but curiously, Lorenzo felt no demonic power in that person’s body, no scent of Secret Blood.

The descending blade hesitated, then excruciating pain came from the other side. A sharp dagger pierced Lorenzo’s abdomen. All Lorenzo could do was protect Selyu as more blades fell from the crowd.

”Mere humans?”

Lorenzo was puzzled but quickly found his naivety laughable.

Not everyone consumed Secret Blood, and not everyone knew of demons.

”Exiled people?”

He questioned, but no one answered him—they were filled with rage.

”So sometimes, one cannot judge a ’demon’ purely by Secret Blood corruption,”

Lorenzo whispered. Then his body erupted with terrifying strength. The sharp folding blade flashed bizarrely in the air—Lorenzo’s blade path invisible, only the fierce wind could be heard. Then, crimson splattered.

The blade’s sharp edge precisely severed the throat of each exiled person. The human body was so fragile. They couldn’t even scream, only clutching their wounds desperately, trying to hold off death’s arrival.

Seeing this sight, the devout old woman could no longer hold back her tears, angrily denouncing Lorenzo’s brutality.

”You will go to hell!”

”That suits me just fine, madam!”

Lorenzo dragged Selyu over the corpses, speaking to himself.

”I’ve killed many priests and Holy Hall Knights. Right now, I’m on my way to kill a former cardinal. My greatest wish is to cover every inch of the Seven Hills in manure, and if possible, set Saint Nalos Cathedral on fire!”

He pushed open the last door, icy wind rushing into the warm carriage, driving away all the blood scent.

Lorenzo turned back to the old woman and smiled.

”Thank you for your blessing, madam. Wishing you a lovely day.”