Gun of Ashes

”Ah... is that so?”

Lorenzo turned around, his face armor completely sealed, plunging his vision into darkness. Yet, in the state of critical breakthrough, his other senses were remarkably keen, able to easily distinguish the movements of the demon hunters from the sounds around him.

”If I could kill you so easily, Moriarty, that would be surprising to me.”

Lorenzo continued, being well aware of what a formidable opponent Moriarty was, and thus, not at all surprised by what would happen next.

He could accomplish what this dangerous foe was capable of, especially with the backing from the new Order behind him.

Gripping the Nail Sword tightly, serpents crawled up Lorenzo’s arm onto the Nail Sword, binding them together. Simultaneously, Lorenzo launched another assault.

The heavy armor stirred up a howling wind. Without sight, Lorenzo’s attacks relied solely on intuition, although his mind remembered where Moriarty had been just earlier.

Despite controlling the fear-stricken demon hunters, Lorenzo actually had no need to battle them; he just needed to kill Moriarty to end all this, find him, and chop off his head.

The Nail Sword whistled down towards the remembered position, stirring gusts of wind.

Under this fierce force, everything appeared fragile in this moment. Steel was broken, wood shattered, even flames were driven away by the winds as if a great being dismissed them. Before this command, all beings could only yield to its judgment.

The ground split open under the heavy strike of the Nail Sword, the shattered wood chips ignited by fire, and red-hot embers flew wildly through the air.

A tiny crack appeared on the face armor, and in the corner of his view, Lorenzo tracked Moriarty’s figure.

The strike didn’t hit Moriarty. Though he was not adept at combat, he possessed the physique of a demon hunter, and that was enough.

In Lorenzo’s sword attack, he comically retreated, yet never loosened his grip on the wine glass. Moriarty indeed was a lunatic, as he had told Lorenzo on the night before everything began.

He was a lonely monster searching for fellow monsters.

Monsters were not like humans; what humans saw as extremely cruel, monsters viewed merely as amusement.

Moriarty looked at the figure pierced with Nail Sword, laughed hysterically, while in the dream he wove, demon hunters roared and the Secret Blood kept breaking through.

Beyond the sea of fire, one grotesque figure after another stood up, their distorted faces strangely smiling.

Critical Breakthrough.

In an instant, layers of terrifying corrosion engulfed the Reichenbach, transforming it into a battlefield of the Demon Gods.

...

Dark shadows emerged from behind swirling clouds, like a giant whale swimming through a sea of clouds, and the next moment they broke through the barrier, rushed out of the storm’s embrace.

”Course is accurate, start accelerating,” someone said.

Gareth nodded, signaling to continue, then shifted his gaze forward.

Endless heavy rain washed over the portholes, looking out, it was chaos and lead gray in every direction, amidst the dense darkness, bursts of blazing white thunder exploded.

For a moment, Gareth truly felt as though he departed from the world, reaching some unknown otherworld, unable to find the way home.

”Broken Dome calling Sailing Dawn, the Reichenbach last contacted at its current location, you will soon leave Old Dunling’s range, from now on, you are on your own.”

The channel echoed with Broken Dome’s call, but as Sailing Dawn accelerated, the voice began to buzz, then fell silent again.

Gareth had a solemn expression. About ten minutes ago, they received communications from Lorenzo, unclear about what exactly he intended, but he hijacked a civilian airship, fleeing Old Dunling.

Originally, Gareth wouldn’t pursue Lorenzo, given today’s chaos was already overwhelming enough. He needed to first manage the Black Mountain Hospital issue, but right after losing contact with Lorenzo, he received communication from the Cleaners.

The interference gradually receded, they cleared most of the demons, while in the secure area of the research zone, found Arthur unconscious.

Arthur’s condition was quite alright, though coma from the corrosion and covered in wounds, he was alive. The only genuine danger was the guy with Arthur in the safe house, a patient, when found, was gnawing on Arthur’s head.

Gareth should have stayed in the Broken Dome to oversee the situation, but due to someone’s firm demand, he had to set sail amidst this dreadful weather, pursuing Lorenzo in his escape.

”So, what exactly is this for, Merlin?”

Gareth looked at Merlin beside him, his voice filled with confusion.

One incident followed another, after finding Arthur, Merlin returned to the Broken Dome, drenched and soaked in foul blood. Merlin looked remarkably disheveled, yet in his hollow eyes, a rare glimmer flickered.

After learning of Lorenzo’s actions, Merlin insisted on setting sail aboard the Sailing Dawn.

”For Lorenzo Holmes, he absolutely must not die, he is the key to it all.”