Gun of Ashes

Chapter 477: Chapter 87: Abyss

Heracles raised the hunting rifle, aiming it at the secret chamber door behind the wardrobe. A whimpering growl emerged from within, as if some monster was imprisoned, forcefully crashing against the cage, causing the entire wardrobe to shake, seemingly able to regain freedom any second.

Swallowing nervously, Heracles was extremely tense, while the chinchilla named Polo was completely oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, running around wildly, thinking Heracles was playing some kind of game with it.

Heracles was a cautious person; ever since that shipwreck, he acquired this eerie power, and with superhuman intelligence, he was aware of his own dangers, so he had been staying behind the scenes for a long time. Everyone knew of the elusive Rat King, but no one saw Heracles, the puppeteer.

He was powerful, but not physically strong. Heracles hesitated whether to escape through the secret passage now, but leaving Lorenzo in this state here made him uneasy.

Suddenly, those crashing sounds ceased, everything fell silent.

A ghostly singing emerged in the silence that no one dared to touch, echoed from behind the door, hoarse and scratchy. Following a vague melody from memory, he hummed, seemingly unfamiliar after not singing it for a long time, lightly recounting the ancient tune.

Heracles was in no mood to listen to those sounds. He gripped the hunting rifle tightly, and right after the ancient singing, there was a violent shaking from behind the door again. The door was pushed open, moving the heavy wardrobe aside, revealing the dark gap beneath it.

His former identity as a police officer enabled Heracles to maintain calm in extreme tension, fixating on the dark gap, mentally prepared: if a monster emerged, he would pull the trigger; if Lorenzo walked out, he would fiercely kick him, asking what madness he was up to.

But the person who finally walked out was unexpected. It was a lost soul, humming a strange song, with upper body covered in bloody scratches, hands dyed in scarlet. He glanced at Heracles, then leaned against the door frame and slowly sat down.

This bizarre scene continued for a while until Lorenzo finally hummed the tune from the depths of his memories.

”Sorry, I scared you,” Lorenzo said.

Heracles didn’t mind these things, slowly releasing his grip on the hunting rifle, sensing Lorenzo’s difference at this moment.

”What happened?”

Browsing the Memory Palace, Heracles never felt like Lorenzo did, even when recollecting the cruelest and darkest memories, it was only melancholic, far from madness.

”I... My memory is faulty.”

Lorenzo suddenly realized the issue at hand but didn’t delve deeper with Heracles.

Past memories gradually became clearer, a part of them completely unfamiliar emerged.

According to Lorenzo’s memory, he and 047 became Medanzo Demon Hunters together and never separated. But in the recent memory, he saw that old man, the one named Lorenzo de’ Medici.

They have the same name... Wait...

Lorenzo’s eyes widened suddenly, bloodshot veins filled the whites, he slowly trembled, unlike previous madness, Heracles could detect the fear permeating the air, emanating from Lorenzo’s fear.

Heracles’ heart suddenly chilled—what could make Lorenzo scared? So profoundly, so oppressively.

”Damn! How could I... how could I forget?”

Lorenzo clutched his head, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find the answer in his mind, his face distorted, prompting Heracles to tighten his grip on the hunting rifle again.

”No... who am I, Heracles?”

Lorenzo raised his head abruptly and questioned.

”Lorenzo... Lorenzo Holmes.”

Heracles tremulously answered.

”Yes... Lorenzo Holmes, this name, this name is a wish...”

He whispered repeatedly, mechanically repeating. When Lorenzo lifted his head again, sudden relief replaced the fear in Heracles’ heart.

Heracles felt no fear, only overwhelming sadness mirrored on Lorenzo’s extremely sorrowful face. He didn’t know what happened, only heard Lorenzo incessantly speaking.

”How could I forget? I can’t recall...

Heracles, it’s a wish, but I can’t remember what I wished for.”

Lorenzo de’ Medici, that old man appearing in his memory.

They had the same name. Lorenzo believed there must be some connection between them, yet when recalling why he named himself ”Lorenzo Holmes,” he couldn’t remember, terrifyingly realizing he couldn’t recall.

Aside from a few escort actions in his impression, Lorenzo had no further connection with the old man.

The long-held wish by that Lorenzo, shining like Venus in the dim starry sky, now Lorenzo suddenly discovered was also illusory, the wish forgotten, uncertain when he abandoned it, or perhaps it never existed, purely his imagination.

”No... this isn’t right.”

Lorenzo refused to succumb, quickly reviewing every clue he could utilize.