Gun of Ashes

”Me?”

”Venus.”

Arthur asked precisely, as if he had seen through Lorenzo.

”That name, the name Lorenzo Holmes...” Arthur continued to explain the bizarre experiment, ”Each time the mouse presses the button is a reinforcement, reinforcing this behavior, and increasing the desire for the outcome obtained.”

”Every time you think of this name, isn’t it a cognitive reinforcement for you? It’s like you’re self-hypnotizing yourself into becoming ’Lorenzo Holmes,’ rather than the so-called Medanzo, 047.”

”What are you trying to say?”

This name is a wish, a belief, and whenever it is involved, Lorenzo becomes uncontrollably angry.

”You’re not free, Lorenzo, you have been continuously influenced, influenced by the Pseudo Holy Grail, just like the mouse in the box, unaware of its own absurdity within.”

Haven’t you noticed your oddity? Humans cannot resurrect through death, nor can they control the Armor of Original Sin in that bizarre manner.”

Following was a long silence, then Lorenzo spoke slowly.

”You no longer trust me, do you?”

”Perhaps, indeed I’ve started to believe those things Merlin often babbles about, the cursed knowledge, it should damn well die; after learning about it I sometimes doubt everything that is now, feel everything is untrustworthy, it troubled me for a long time.

But who really cares about these things?”

Arthur showed an unsightly smile, in Lorenzo’s eyes he seemed like a man bound by chains, those chains named Arthur, Duke Phoenix, Father.

No, not just Arthur, everyone is shackled by different chains, they are so heavy, making steps difficult for those who bear them, and now those chains are wrapped around Lorenzo, almost suffocating him.

”I suspect you’re being eroded and influenced by the Pseudo Holy Grail, and the name Lorenzo Holmes is the reason, under the influence of the Pseudo Holy Grail, it has been distorting your cognition, turning you from 047 to that nonexistent 042, that so-called Lorenzo Holmes.”

Anthony intervened in the conversation, as Lorenzo’s adversary, he didn’t have Arthur’s previous hesitant considerations, and spoke directly and coldly.

”Moreover, the Pseudo Holy Grail is gradually consuming those around you, Lorenzo.”

Lorenzo keenly sensed the unease, this was Anthony’s intention, all the damned experiments and strange stories were all a setup for this moment.

The script for this hunt had long been set, Lorenzo was forced to proceed upon it, struggling to find moments of resistance.

Killing those innocent people and the Queen’s orders, these were not the reasons Arthur became so resolute, the real reason Arthur turned like this was the threat posed by himself, or rather, Moriarty’s deception...

”You saw your roommate, he was eroded... eroded by you.” Anthony said.

”But you didn’t even see him, how can you be sure?”

Lorenzo looked at Anthony, when the Demon Hunters attacked, he had left Hig in the alley, Anthony had never seen Hig, how could he ascertain Hig’s condition?

But soon Lorenzo found his own sluggishness laughable, this wasn’t a war of words at the negotiation table, it was a premeditated hunt, Anthony surely had his own reasonable arguments.

”Because long before that we had focused on your roommate, he was eroded, and according to Purification Mechanism’s data, there’s been no erosion detected in Cork Street recently, except for you, the unknowable erosion of the Pseudo Holy Grail, perhaps we’re now enveloped by your erosion, it’s not impossible.

Hig was eroded, plunged into madness, he killed all the members of the Mutual Aid Association, and that poor psychologist... Purification Mechanism detected the anomaly of erosion, after handling White Church, decided to urgently contain you.”

Lorenzo was not surprised by Anthony’s words; it was Moriarty’s doing, he must have captured some unlucky soul to replace himself and fall into a false death, as long as he remains hidden, Lorenzo wouldn’t be able to prove it, since in Purification Mechanism’s eyes ”Moriarty” doesn’t exist, even if there really is this person named Moriarty, he long died in White Church.

”Emergency containment? Mobilizing all Demon Hunters, even the Armor of Original Sin... I even thought you were going to stir up a local war within Old Dunling.”

Lorenzo found Anthony’s words amusing, Purification Mechanism has rapid response teams for emergencies, but they couldn’t blockade the entire district in such a short time, out on the streets there was only Lorenzo, along with those enemies.

”Because Joey was also eroded by you, Lorenzo.” Arthur spoke slowly.

Lorenzo froze, then couldn’t quite believe it.

”What did you say?”

”Joey, a few days ago he was detected eroded, yet he had been staying in Old Dunling, guarding the base, he hadn’t encountered any Demon, hadn’t been pulled by the Perpetual Motion Pump for experiments, and he was our contact person set for you, what he usually interacted with most, closest to Demon things, was you.

Joey is an Upper-Rank Knight of Purification Mechanism, after Mental Specialization, although not as strong as the Knight Commanders, he has a certain level of resistance to erosion, but even so, he was still eroded, within the core of Purification Mechanism, in Old Dunling.”