Gun of Ashes

Chapter 497: Chapter 96: Past_2

Bluebird paused for a moment, then spoke like those stodgy old folks, unsure of what the young people today are all about.

”By the way, Joey seems very angry,” Bluebird said. ”I’ve never seen him so angry before.”

”It’s probably because of those damn hallucinations... Joey saw that child again,” Red Falcon said.

Bluebird fell silent briefly; he too was aware of that incident.

”Is that so? He still hasn’t moved past that shadow?”

”What else? Where do you think his obsession with cleanliness comes from? He’s killed men, women, old people, young ones, and even things that aren’t human. But that time, he killed a child... many of them.”

Red Falcon understood Joey; psychological burdens are not just empty words.

”It’s not his fault; it was on the battlefield, and mostly it was Gawain who acted,” Bluebird tried to defend Joey.

”That’s why killing is difficult; you must suppress all kinds of emotions until you’re used to killing our kind,” Red Falcon suddenly felt the downpour made everything more irritable.

Few people know

Initially, Joey wasn’t stationed in Old Dunling but was following Knight Gawain, hunting those demons at the borders of the land.

It was the edge of law and sword, often accompanied by blood and death.

But in one action, Joey killed innocent people, a group of children.

”I still remember Gawain’s ugly face... He actually acted very correctly according to the Purification Mechanism’s regulations, yet it still felt uncomfortable,” Red Falcon said, recalling Joey’s narrative of that time.

At that time, Gawain said.

”We just killed their parents, and their family was devoted to the demons. We don’t know what kind of power they might have, or weapons, and they are filled with hatred towards us now. Perhaps the next second, this kid will turn into a demon and kill my subordinates. I am responsible for their lives.”

So Gawain killed them, precisely speaking, he killed everyone.

That was the battlefield, a cruel and cold-blooded battlefield. Gawain did nothing wrong, if there’s any mistake, it’s that he was too obedient to the rules, obedient to the point of being seemingly non-human.

To fight demons, humanity has to abandon some weaknesses, like compassion, sympathy, softness...

Actually... everyone is quite cold-blooded; just unwilling to admit it, as if not admitting it makes oneself remain a normal human.

And it was since then that Joey suffered torment.

It’s a kind of mental torment, one that everyone in the Purification Mechanism has experienced. They’ve killed, committed crimes, though claiming it’s for a brighter tomorrow, they still took innocent lives. Even the thick-skinned Red Falcon sometimes can’t help but learn some prayers from Bluebird, murmuring a few words.

But it was this time that Joey felt his sins were significant and undeniable.

Since then, Joey applied to transfer back to Old Dunling. Amidst the suffering, he began taking hallucinogens to console himself. His mental state continued to decline, and sometimes when stained with blood, it would remind him of that nightmarish everything.

”So, seeing a psychologist often is really important,” Red Falcon said.

”I thought you would say something serious and meaningful,” Bluebird couldn’t believe what Red Falcon summarized in a sentence.

”What meaning, what seriousness, isn’t living like that too exhausting?” Red Falcon spoke nonsense, ”Everyone’s work is already so demanding, let’s not torture ourselves further.”

”Is this great wisdom appearing as foolishness?”

”Just simply carefree... after all, people like me generally live longer, don’t they?”

Red Falcon spoke casually, lacking seriousness.

He’s not without ambition; it’s just that the near-death days in the Lower City District made him easily satisfied.

”Alright, stop chatting everyone, time to work.”

A voice interrupted their conversation, and soon another person emerged from the curtain of rain.

Night Owl rarely acted alongside them.

Currently, only one Third Generation Armor is available for formal use, yet it was blasted by Lorenzo riding the Black Angel during testing. Until new armor is made, Night Owl, the test driver, doesn’t have work, so he was temporarily called back to fill in missing manpower.

”Personnel are in place, time to act,” Night Owl said.

”But is this really alright?” Bluebird asked, ”That doctor is one of us, without any evidence, we’re directly confronting him?”

”Joey himself is the evidence... and the reason Old Dunling can ensure such tranquility is precisely because of our excessive vigilance,” Red Falcon said, ”As long as there’s the slightest hint of symptoms, we absolutely won’t let it go, even Arthur’s daughter is still in Black Mountain Hospital...”

Red Falcon was well aware of how hard it was to endure that ghostly place of Black Mountain Hospital, and now nearly two weeks had passed, the little girl still showed no signs of discharge.

”However, it’s because of this that we are also highly vigilant towards ourselves.”

Night Owl understood their concerns, but this was unrelated to him. Tonight, they would play different roles.

In position, Upper-Rank Knights also followed different Knight Commanders. Joey and Night Owl were Lancelot’s subordinates, but months ago Lancelot mysteriously vanished. Rumors suggest, similar to Galahad, he was eroded by First Generation Armor and undergoing emergency treatment.

However, in the Perpetual Motion Pump, some people still saw the figure of Galahad, but Lancelot... This guy resembled a ghost of nonexistence, although Joey and Night Owl were his subordinates, they never saw that guy.

Red Falcon extended his hand into the rain, vigorously rubbed his eyes with his wet hand to invigorate himself.

He stopped thinking about it. The more you know, the faster you die; Red Falcon understood this.

”Our own people, huh? Sigh, truly hard to imagine...” Bluebird sighed.

While battling demons, one must be wary not only of demons but also of teammates who are demonized. The Purification Mechanism trusted Joey’s suspicion; Joey suspected that doctor had issues, likewise, they also suspected Joey had issues. He had previously injected hallucinogens and stayed in Black Mountain Hospital for a while. In the eyes of the Purification Mechanism, this is already considered a black history.

If the doctor can’t be proven problematic, then Joey will face psychological evaluation and mental testing. They have grounds to suspect Joey carries remnants of erosion, leading to mental abnormalities. This is not good news.

”Have you seen the doctor’s data?” Red Falcon asked.

Bluebird nodded. On the way here, he had already read it sitting in the carriage.

Though all serve the Purification Mechanism, just like the Perpetual Motion Pump, Black Mountain Hospital and these frontline knights are entirely separate parts, with little interaction between the two.

”James Moriarty, 27 years old, unmarried, native of Old Dunling, absorbed into Black Mountain Hospital after graduating from the Royal Medical College, becoming a formal member after one year of assessment.”

The resume was very clean, almost too clean.

From birth until now, every deed of his has been meticulously recorded. Simply relying on these sheets, you could almost replicate his not-too-lengthy life.

Yet now, this clean doctor was suspected by Joey.

Red Falcon remembered the situation then; Joey fell into a terrifying abnormality, like enduring dreadful erosion. Once stable, relying on the sensitive large Geiger Counter, Joey, in a haze, made this judgment.

Actually, Joey couldn’t be entirely sure of his judgment, but he trusted his intuition; James Moriarty might be related to the demons.

That eerie Mutual Aid Association, encountering Moriarty, and then repeatedly experiencing hallucinations...

Like a translucent web, you could touch that eerie everything, feel its invisible pressure, yet couldn’t clearly see its form.