Gun of Ashes

”I think so too. This kind of power doesn’t seem to have much effect on these lunatics.”

How much crazier could someone who’s already lost their mind become?

016 was supporting 042. The fatigue after the battle, combined with the eerie pressure from the fog, caused 042 to be briefly disoriented. Although a Demon Hunter’s mind wouldn’t easily succumb to it, everything that followed was unknown, and 016 had to ensure the team remained stable.

”What exactly is it about this fog that you mentioned?”

011 asked from the side, also beginning to doubt everything.

Amidst the pile of corpses, a pale red gas seeped from the blood, mixing with the fog.

”I’m not sure, but I am certain the problem lies with the fog. It’s the only thing that constantly affects us, after all, we all need to breathe.”

016 said, walking over to a corpse. She didn’t avert her gaze but instead looked directly at the symbol-covered face.

Approaching the unknown with absolute rationality, unaffected by the mystical, interpreting and guiding it with cold logic.

”We’ve all been misled. As Demon Hunters, we’ve blamed all our problems on Demons, never considering powers that don’t belong to them.”

016 crouched down, wiping some of the blood with her finger.

Seeing her action, 042 cautioned, ”What are you doing? This might be poisonous.”

016 seemed indifferent, ”Our Secret Blood is the most poisonous thing there is, besides, I need to prove my suspicion.”

She tasted the blood on her finger, and a feeling of chaotic loathing surged forth, a more intense and clearer sensation.

As a master of Illusion Technique, 016 knew exactly what this eerie feeling was, and she began to understand why the Demon Hunters hadn’t deduced the cause initially.

”Sometimes our overwhelming strength isn’t always a good thing.”

She said, looking at the gray fog.

”There’s a hallucinogenic component in the blood... it all makes sense now.”

”Hallucinogen?” 011 also realized the problem. When the unknown becomes known, you’ll be surprised to find it’s all so simple.

”Yes, hallucinogen, consuming a large dose of hallucinogenic substance, accumulated excessively in the blood... it’s these fogs that have been affecting us, hallucinogenic fogs.”

016 said, looking at the hazy fog.

011 and 042 quickly became alert, realizing that the root source of everything lay in the fog before them, the fog that consumed everything.

”Right, these people, all the inhabitants of Valley Town live in a high concentration of hallucinogen, it’d be strange if they weren’t insane, which is also why we’ve noticed the anomaly. We’re also under this hallucinogenic influence,” 016 said.

”But we don’t have strong hallucinations,” 011 questioned.

”What do you think a Demon Hunter’s physique is?” 016 said bluntly, ”Our strong physique also makes us sluggish, making it difficult for the diluted hallucinogenic component in the fog to induce hallucinations, but it can slightly unsettle us, like those symbols.”

Her gaze landed on the terrifying symbols.

”These symbols merely guide fear; it’s the subtle hallucination causing our unease. You could even say everything in Valley Town leads rational beings towards the destruction of fear.”

Glancing around the gray, oppressive world, everything looked so strange.

”We need to find that thing...” 016 had a goal in mind.

”What thing?” Perhaps due to being heavily affected, 042 struggled to follow 016’s line of thinking.

”There must be something causing the spread of the hallucinogenic component, right? If it’s not Demons, then the Apocalypse Society must be up to something.”

016 continued.

”They’ve artificially created a large Illusion Realm. Indeed, under the influence of this hallucinogen, Heaven and Hell become easily reachable, leading reason to madness with mere symbolic guidance... they must be up to something, producing this thick fog.”

This fog enveloped all of Valley Town, an omnipresent mist of dread.