Gun of Ashes

”Ah... so beautiful.”

Red Falcon, dressed in a black suit, stood amidst the debris of Black Mountain Hospital, gazing at this beautiful ruin.

The ground was still waterlogged, with broken steel standing like the bones of some monster amidst the collapsed buildings. People moved through the ruins, working to repair Black Mountain Hospital.

The sunlight poured down without reservation, sweeping away the long-standing gloom of Old Dunling. Everything in sight was enveloped by the warm sunlight, coated with a layer of soft, brilliant golden light. Red Falcon couldn’t help but smile at the nearly forgotten clear sky.

Indeed, people need to see more of the sun and clear skies. At this moment, even his dark heart was illuminated with warmth.

With the storm’s dissipation and the rainy season’s departure, Old Dunling finally welcomed a rare calm. However, there was still a mess waiting to be dealt with after this calm.

The massive rainfall had once paralyzed Old Dunling’s drainage system. Streets were flooded, factories were inundated, and the entire Old Dunling came to a standstill for several days due to the storm. People drained the water and repaired the buildings damaged by the strong winds, looking at the clear sky with a sigh, just like Red Falcon.

It was a disaster, yet within these post-disaster ruins, there was an elusive beauty.

”Clear skies in Old Dunling are truly rare... unfortunately, many people can’t see it anymore.”

Blue Jade approached, sitting on a protruding rock, and looked up at the clear sky.

Perhaps after living under Old Dunling’s gloom for too long, such a bright sky felt uncomfortable to Blue Jade. The sunlight was so glaring that she could hardly open her eyes, but to savor this beauty, she stubbornly watched until tears flowed from her eyes.

”Yes.”

Listening to Blue Jade’s words, Red Falcon’s expression was slightly sad, but he forced himself to sound optimistic.

This is a terrible world, this is a terrible job. Now, these doctors are busy to death, and there’s no one with free time to guide Red Falcon’s emotions, so he had to console himself.

This heavy rain from half a month ago washed away the city’s filth, but what also disappeared were many people and many things; they vanished as if they had never appeared.

”It’s starting, come on, Red Falcon. After all, you are the ’Lucky Red Falcon’ now; just seeing you can lift everyone’s spirits.” Blue Jade stood up and handed Red Falcon a white flower.

Red Falcon scratched his head a bit embarrassedly, accepting the white flower, and murmured to himself.

”Thinking carefully, it’s truly incredible. Have I become a hero?”

”Perhaps.”

Half a month ago, various forces triggered a localized war within Black Mountain Hospital—demons, Demon Hunters... all sorts of chaos emerged.

Back then, everyone thought they were doomed, but they still charged forward bravely, carving a path to survival in despair.

To the survivors, those who braved death were heroes, and Red Falcon was one of them. In the final battle, he fought like possessed, advancing and slashing. Though he was eventually easily defeated by the Plague Doctor, for a mortal, Red Falcon did well enough.

However, that wasn’t what drew attention to him. Upon a simple review of Red Falcon’s mission records, it was found that this guy had escaped death more than once. In situations where death seemed certain, he always inexplicably survived, just like this time.

Amidst the corpses, this guy slowly crawled out of the water, looking as if he’d overslept.

”What was on your mind when you charged out, Red Falcon?” she suddenly asked.

Recalling Red Falcon’s determination at that time, Blue Jade was dumbfounded. She never expected such a reckless act from such an unreliable guy.

”For honor, for some noble reason?”

”Do you think that’s possible?” Red Falcon indifferently dismissed these words of praise. Having clawed his way up from the Lower City District, this guy never cared for such things.

”What was I thinking back then? I only saw that Lancelot was just a child. If a child could rush forward, what reason did I have to retreat?”

”So it was this weird sense of guilt that drove you forward?”

”Not entirely, there was fear, and many other strange emotions. But well, love what you do, and before dying, kill a few more demons, it’s fulfilling your duty, don’t you think?”

”So... those who wanted to live died, and those who didn’t care about living ended up surviving by luck?”

Hearing Red Falcon’s response, Blue Jade couldn’t help but marvel at life’s wonders.

”Maybe... fate plays tricks, perhaps that’s what it means.”

Red Falcon replied, involuntarily recalling the last scene in his memory, it was a boy’s face, an angry yet terrified face. He desperately wanted to survive but eventually met his end.

He had always been broad-minded, after all, doing this job, a little narrow-mindedness wouldn’t help get through it. But now he could somewhat feel it—one familiar face after another disappeared, like knives slicing through flesh, bringing immense pain.

”But at least, fortunately, the ones I’m familiar with haven’t died... though it’s not much better than death.”

Red Falcon consoled himself.