Gun of Ashes

”Rat King?”

Bola was evidently surprised that Lorenzo would ask this. After a brief shock, he said.

”Why would you bring him up?”

Both of them have been lurking in the Lower City District for a long time. This wretched place holds far too many secrets, enough to be tiresome, and the Rat King is one of them.

The intelligence head of the Lower City District, with spies spread extremely wide, although his service range is within the Lower City District, he knows information beyond it too.

”Because of those smugglers, your Purification Mechanism doesn’t have the spare energy to deal with them, so I have to do it.” Lorenzo’s words carried a mocking tone, ”They went to ask the Inferior Rat’s intelligence dealers, I don’t know what they’re after, anyway, after they planned to kill to silence, but I was there, instead, several of them ended up dead.”

Bola was a bit surprised by this suddenly unfolding story, but then again, Lorenzo’s action has always been like this; when he asks whether a person should be killed, he might have already killed the person and even buried them.

”You’re out of the chase’s scope now.” Lorenzo’s progress on the case exceeded Bola’s imagination.

”I come from Florence, naturally, I have to look after my fellow countrymen.”

There was not a trace of warmth in Lorenzo’s words.

”So, what did you find out?”

”They’re not ordinary smugglers, they must be plotting something. During my chase, one of them escaped... To be precise, I almost caught him, but I was hit by a suddenly appearing carriage.”

Lorenzo’s hand swept through the air, covering up how he briefly tumbled into free fall.

”That carriage took him away at extreme speed; I couldn’t catch up, and then I was detained by mounted police for causing disorder.”

Upon hearing this, Bola chuckled, unexpectedly Lorenzo had his moments of setback too.

”I thought you would have killed those mounted police and continued chasing... Although you’ve already lost him.”

Lorenzo looked helpless.

”Bola, just like you said, living among humans, one must follow some rules, and besides, I’m not a lunatic; opposing mounted police will only worsen things.”

Lorenzo recalled Pres, ”Everyone’s just out here trying to earn a living, losing one’s life randomly, or getting beaten up, it’s always a bit inexplicable, right.

If everyone showed their true selves, this world would surely be much more peaceful.”

Lorenzo joked.

”This doesn’t sound like something you’d say, you actually have... empathy?”

In Bola’s eyes, Lorenzo is a monster wearing human skin, although he disguises well, everyone knows, his greatest hobby is slaying Demons, bathing in the flames of revenge, only then does he truly come alive.

Lorenzo shook his head dismissively and said.

”This is the complexity of human nature, isn’t it? I’m a homicidal maniac, but what does that have to do with being a philanthropist supporting orphans?”

Arthur is the head of that violent agency, a cold-blooded Evil Ghost, but when it involves his daughter’s life, this Evil Ghost becomes vulnerable, no different from ordinary people, but can you say he is no longer vicious?

Bola paused, perhaps Lorenzo’s words prompted some reflection.

”It seems your resurrection changed you a lot.”

”People are always changing,” Lorenzo replied.

”How about you, when you were a kid, that naive brat, did you ever think you’d become a gang leader someday? And in the Lower City District at that! So, have you changed too, has your image collapsed?”

Lorenzo’s words were full of contempt as he continued.

”Let’s get back to the case, those smugglers definitely have issues; smugglers wouldn’t ask for Inferior Rat intelligence, wouldn’t have weapons to kill and silence, much less have some damn carriage aiding them.”

Thinking about the carriage made Lorenzo absurdly mad.

”So, Bola, have you ever thought, those smugglers, could they be that infiltrating force?” Lorenzo asked, ”Don’t you have similar suspicions? Maybe they are a Church faction that split off, followers of the new Pope? Anyway, their goal is very likely the ’Revelation’.”

Bola’s face turned grave.

”Are you sure?”

”It’s just suspicions, after all, I couldn’t catch him,” Lorenzo continued, ”perhaps the Rat King knows something.”

Bola was silent; this issue indeed deserves contemplation, but seeing Lorenzo like this, it seems he’s willing to forge ahead to solve it.

”I will report this to Arthur, as for the Rat King... the Rat King is peculiar.” He said.

No one has seen the Rat King; his existence is confined to passing stories among people, like an ethereal tale, but such existence commands respect from intelligence dealers, as if he truly exists, stories of the Rat King are interwoven in conversations.

”Although I’ve been in the Lower City District for so long, I’ve only heard of such a person, but have never truly seen him, surely you haven’t either, Lorenzo.”

Bola said.

”Indeed, but this also highlights his oddity... haven’t you investigated him all this while in the Lower City District?” Lorenzo asked.

”What’s there to investigate?” Bola sighed, ”Do you know how many urban legends like this exist?”

”The Lower City District is chaos in a pot, people from all over converge here, thrown into the pot to stew,” maybe spending too much time with Lorenzo, Bola’s rhetoric began slipping towards Lorenzo’s crude talk, ”to occupy a seat in chaos, those gang members always make up various strange stories to display their dreadfulness, but in our eyes, it’s just the roar of trash, isn’t it?”