Gun of Ashes

It was a prison locked by blades, and Lorenzo couldn’t even struggle, as that would mean slicing himself into pieces.

”Don’t worry, you’ll survive.”

Lawrence held the last Nail Sword in his hand, looking at the bedraggled Demon Hunter, declaring his victory.

He wouldn’t kill Lorenzo; there were still many secrets on Lorenzo, not only his identity but also the strange power inside Lorenzo’s mind. All of this was very attractive to Lawrence, not to mention Lorenzo’s body would be a perfect shell once his was damaged.

Lorenzo hung his head down as if he were dead. The Holy Silver on the Nail Sword brought immense pain, and the blood flowed along the blade’s edge as if it would never end.

Lawrence slowly turned around, his gaze shifting to the girl on the other side.

Selyu retreated step by step until she was against the wall of the carriage, with nowhere else to go.

The demon-like old man approached slowly, expressionless, and the flesh on his chest squirmed slowly. Whether it was an illusion or not, Selyu even saw the eyes on the fleshy tumor open slightly for a moment.

”I really didn’t expect things to become so complicated at the end; it should have been simple.”

He said somewhat regretfully, then grabbed Selyu’s hair with a strong hand, lifting her up.

The girl couldn’t even let out a scream, as the terrifying erosion invaded her mind the moment they touched, corroding her sanity.

”You... you’ve always been here.”

Selyu struggled to say in pain.

She saw bizarre images, a strange connection linking her and Lawrence.

”Yes, the Beacon has always been there.”

During the first attack, Lawrence had already planted the Beacon, and Selyu was that bright firelight, clearly visible in the dark.

Lawrence slowly closed his eyes. Now he needed to spread the erosion using Selyu as a medium. With the blessing of the Holy Grail, he could plant the Beacon in all those who swore allegiance to the Stuart family instantly. If successful, he could paralyze half of Old Dunling in no time.

This meme contamination, a concept difficult for ordinary people to comprehend, could be spread through any medium with a connection. You could even say it’s like a thought that’s being spread.

Sometimes Lawrence even felt that the term ’Demon Hunter’ was a meme contamination itself, infecting all the desperados, driving them to fight demons.

”The revelry... has begun.”

Lawrence took another step towards his great ideal, and so the pitch-black night sky was about to be illuminated by him.

Using Selyu as the hub, the power of erosion began to spread like a virus, jumping back and forth between different Gaps. Initially, it spread very slowly, but after a period of dissemination, it would grow exponentially, and he could foresee that precarious day.

Driven by this power, the fleshy tumor on his chest awoke, with human facial features, growing on Lawrence like a head. At this moment, it opened its eyes, revealing a godless void.

Just like a startled infant, it screeched hoarsely, and in an instant, an even more intense erosion spread out, polluting all life within range with a bizarre pressure.

The body withered instantly, cooling down from a boil, and Lawrence seemed to have aged several decades, all his vitality being siphoned by the grotesque visage on his chest. It fed on Lawrence like a parasite.

This was the price of power; the more he accepted the Holy Grail’s blessings, the faster Lawrence and this bizarre flesh intertwined. He was about to lose himself.

But then something strange happened.

Lawrence clearly sensed that the power of erosion was being contained, or rather, it had reached its limit, yet instead of engulfing hundreds or thousands as expected, it affected only a few people.

”What’s going on?”

He slowly opened his eyes, trying to ascertain the situation, but soon a small wound extended on his arm.

In pain, the girl glared at him.

Selyu tightened her grip on her ”stone,” swinging the dagger that had always been hidden under her pillow.

It was an ordinary dagger, with no Holy Silver to suppress demons, nor was it made of the special metal from the Purification Mechanism, just simple iron.

Yet this mundane object once again injured Lawrence, leaving him somewhat unresponsive, swiftly followed by an angry rage as if humiliated.

He slammed Selyu heavily on the ground; Lawrence couldn’t even recall which part went wrong. But soon, gunfire sounded again, and a fist-sized wound exploded on his chest.

His thoughts came to a halt, and he turned his head, angrily roaring.

”Lorenzo!”

Only to see the Demon Hunter standing, covered in wounds, in a pool of blood. Several Nail Swords that trapped him had been removed, and no more blood flowed, as if it had all been drained. His complexion was ghostly pale.

It was hard to imagine how this Demon Hunter managed to stay conscious and alive until now; Lawrence couldn’t fathom how he still had the strength to retaliate.

”Indeed, when traversing the Gap, your consciousness isn’t bound to your body... meaning you’re unaware of your surroundings.”

Lorenzo spoke quietly, a conclusion reached during their first confrontation in the Gap. His gaze was icy, still seeking opportunities even in desperate straits.

”I know a pretty good doctor; even severed limbs can be reattached.”

Such wounds weren’t enough to kill Lawrence as he gripped the Nail Sword, walking toward Lorenzo.

Lorenzo barely lifted his head, seemingly mocking him. Then intense pain radiated from the gunshot wound in his chest. Countless tendrils of flesh wriggled at its edges, attempting to heal but unable to, as if suppressed by something, bleeding profusely.

”This was one of my few Holy Silver Bullets, and it missed.”

Gazing at Lawrence, who paused in pain, Lorenzo lowered the Winchester in his hand. The pressure of erosion made it difficult for him to aim.

Lorenzo crafted two Holy Silver Bullets using his remaining Holy Silver, specifically prepared for Lawrence: one for the head, one for the heart. Yet, he had already missed one.

Lawrence clutched his wound, the leftover Holy Silver causing intense burning... He had narrowly escaped death by Lorenzo again.

Raising the Nail Sword, he had no intention of giving Lorenzo any more chances. For the first time, Lawrence felt fear from this unfamiliar Demon Hunter.

It was time for everything to end.

”Little Nightingale?”

But at this moment, Lorenzo suddenly spoke.

In the dark, Selyu lifted her head. She couldn’t clearly see Lorenzo, who appeared like a tattered scarecrow supported by the Nail Sword.

”Little Nightingale! Things like Red Rose are truly idiotic.”

Lorenzo spoke with a hint of restraint.

He looked at the dark corner where he knew Little Nightingale was hiding.

”The big tree is coming.”

Lorenzo weakly announced, but in the next instant, the dying man erupted with unimaginable power, his body forcefully breaking free from the Nail Sword’s lock as he stomped on the wall with force, using it to propel himself at Lawrence.

Like a beast, without any plan, yet somehow, such madness temporarily suppressed Lawrence. A white light burst as it collided with the flesh and blood. Soon, Lawrence regained the upper hand, two Nail Swords slicing into Lorenzo’s shoulders, seemingly on the verge of breaking with a little more force.

Lorenzo seemed immune to pain, muttering to himself.

”Time’s up.”

The pocket watch fell from his pocket, crashing onto the cold ground.

All the insanity was reflected in his eyes; the whistle tore through the snowstorm, glowing embers spewing from the combustion chamber like red snowflakes.

The train suddenly accelerated, violently shaking as Lorenzo held up Lawrence, forcefully pushing him up.

The madman was still shouting.

”So, fly high, Little Nightingale.”

These were Lorenzo’s last words, as Selyu watched him hurl Lawrence out of the carriage with some unknown burst of energy. Wielding the Nail Sword madly, he swung down hard, severing the connection between the cars.

Everything happened almost instantaneously, and perhaps due to erosion, Selyu wasn’t quite sure what had happened until the carriage slowly came to a stop and Lorenzo disappeared completely into the blizzard. It was only then that Selyu slowly stood up.

Her expressionless face began to melt, turning into horror, before she shakily walked out, looking towards the direction of his disappearance. The blizzard was fierce, soon covering the tracks left by the train. Then Selyu saw it.

Light illuminated within the snowstorm, descending from the sky to ignite the entire night in crimson.