Gun of Ashes

They are laughing, though no sound emanates from those cold, exquisite faces, but 042 can feel it as he meets their hollow gazes.

These ominous guests, beings resembling Angels, are mocking him, mocking everyone resisting here.

”Always the same, these guys are always up high, as if we are livestock raised by them.”

The elderly man looks up at those Angels, the burning light illuminating his face.

”But now it’s different, you’re surprised too, aren’t you? Once Hunters, now hunted by us weak ones.”

The sharp screeches continue incessantly, Shangdafeng Demon Hunters have long seen the Angels appear, and before they fully formed their bodies, they commenced the hunt.

Blood-stained bodies keep falling, decaying blood swooping down as torrential rain, baptizing everyone from top to bottom.

042 watches in horror, then his gaze slowly shifts to the elderly man, who seems to feel his gaze and gives 042 a ghastly smile.

”They are those guys, aren’t they?”

The boy asks, confronted with the terrifying erosion, even less composed than the casual elderly man before him, his body trembling violently, every nerve howling in pain.

”Yes, beings we still don’t know, but definitely related to the origin of Demons, existing mostly in a shape resembling Ghosts, watching everything in the world, which is why we haven’t discovered them, because they aren’t visible.”

The elderly man patiently explains to 042, gently swaying the wine glass, as the Angel dies, its body disintegrates into dust, and the blood in the glass evaporates rapidly.

Unknown forces seem to erase their existence continuously.

”But the void’s will cannot affect our decisions, they need a physical body to act, yet once they have it, they can be discovered, captured...”

He says meaningfully, a crazy expression beneath extraordinarily clear eyes, the elderly man has never seemed so clear-headed, maintaining absolute rationality.

Yet the more rational the elderly man, the more uncontrollable fear grips 042—not because of these sudden aberrations, but the still-smiling man before him.

Although he hasn’t obtained Authority, the Secret Blood flows within him, his will having endured the battering of the Divine Favor Baptism, enough to resist erosion, 042 still feels like a withered leaf in a storm, shredded by countless air currents, nearly collapsing.

But even amid such apocalypse, the mortal elderly man remains clear-headed, can even smile at 042.

”It has the image of an Angel but is an abhorrent Pseudo-God, I usually call them Silencers.”

The elderly man places his index finger on his lips, softly speaks.

”Shh, keep quiet, anyone trying to wake that hidden thing will be killed by them.”

Wails, sword swings, aside from the fallen Angel’s corpse, there are Demon Hunter bodies too, the initial surprise attack indeed suppressed the Angels, but as time passes, the frailty of mortals fully emerges.

Like Hell itself, severed limbs and viscera mixed with shattered bones, fall to the bottom, 042 realizes the underground structure resembles a deep well, all flesh accumulating at the bottom, blood already over his ankles, gradually engulfing him.

”You planned all this beforehand, right? A hunt, targeting the Silencers.”

042 watches the abhorrence, black arcs flash unceasingly, new Angels appear in succession, the elderly man deliberately talked about those hidden things, thus drawing the Silencers here.

Usually, they would secretly kill all informed, but this time these dreadful Nightmares face Lorenzo de’ Medici, who already calculated all this, dispatched Shangdafeng Demon Hunters to guard here.

The Demon Hunters gather in this deep well, burning Authority, until in the future seeing the Silencers come and launch a surprise attack.

”Yes, how ironic, Hunters become prey at this moment.”

The elderly man says, kicking away a delicate head, strolling amidst the blood pool.

”No… this isn’t just your aim, right? Demon Hunters might resist for a while but can’t completely kill them.” 042 shakes his head, the elderly man before him never so unfamiliar and terrifying.

”Yes, I suspect they are a kind of Spirit Body, we just kill their shells, but if they wish, they can create new bodies again and continue fighting.”

Black arcs still flicker, fallen bodies piling around the elderly man, for a moment the two seem to stand on mountains of corpses.

”Then what exactly do you want to do?” 042 asks perplexed, it all happens too fast for him to ponder deeply.

It seems except for Dean Lawrence, all Shangdafeng Demon Hunters gather here resisting the Silencers, but as the battle progresses, the Demon Hunters cannot sustain such combat, they will keep dying, until none remain, until he and the elderly man are killed too.