Gun of Ashes

Erin and Hebdo raced down the dim corridor, the blazing sun and clashing swords resonating behind them, neither dared to turn around to witness the true visage of the Demon.

They could only follow Lorenzo’s instructions, searching for Ivar’s tracks in this shadowy world.

The corridor was thick with the scent of blood. No one had expected that in the blink of an eye, the world would transform into a fleshy Hell, where death and strife lurked everywhere.

Hebdo, using the faint glow of candlelight from outside the window, pushed open door after door, shouting continuously.

”Ivar! Ivar!”

The call echoed through the corridor and soon returned to Hebdo’s ears.

”Where exactly is Ivar?”

Hebdo muttered anxiously, and at this moment, cold metal pressed against his neck, delivering a chilling touch of death.

Erin raised the handgun up against Hebdo’s neck, her gaze cold but brimming with tears.

”What are you doing Erin?”

Hebdo struggled to suppress his anger, baffled by Erin’s sudden betrayal at such a crucial time.

”I want to ask you what you’re doing... You came to kill Ivar, didn’t you? You’re here to kill him, under his father’s orders.”

Words squeezed through clenched teeth, Erin wasn’t aware of all the conspiracies, but based on her understanding of the man known as the King of the Ice Sea, she knew well how such a person would act.

”Why do you think that?”

Hebdo, with his back to Erin, slowly raised both hands.

”I’ve heard stories of the King of the Ice Sea, he’s a Warrior, a Warrior who will use any means necessary to defeat his enemies. To him, everyone has a fixed value, and he is adept at utilizing that value where it matters.”

Erin recalled those terrifying stories, stories known only to a handful of people.

”During the cold and desperate voyage across the Silent Sea, he did such things, didn’t he? Consumed his deceased warriors to maximize their value, so you think of Ivar the same way, don’t you? Kill him, incite war, find a fitting reason for your greed.”

Hebdo took a deep breath, she was a mysterious woman, few could understand her thoughts.

He did not reply, in the next moment he suddenly turned and ducked.

The gunshot rang out, the bullet grazing past his shoulder, as Hebdo turned, he swung his fists knocking away Erin’s handgun, an action typically risky, but now the dim light and Erin’s injury provided him the opportunity.

But sudden pain surged, cold steel scoured his body, the wound was shallow, seemingly Erin showed mercy, followed by the Folding Blade poised at his neck.

”Did Lorenzo teach you?”

”Yes.”

Erin unwrapped the bandage on her arm, though the wound had not healed, the bandage cleverly hid the Folding Blade until it now revealed its edge.

Time was pressing, and death was close behind, faced with Erin’s questions, Hebdo hesitated for a while then nodded.

”That’s right, I came to kill Ivar.”

Speaking this truth, Hebdo felt no pressure, instead he felt relieved, the deep secret within was finally expressed.

”But not for the sake of war... It’s merely a destined byproduct of the matter.”

Hebdo continued.

”Ivar Rodbrock made a mistake, and he must be punished.”

”So pursuing freedom is a mistake?”

Erin could not understand.

”That’s not the mistake! Erin Adler!”

Hebdo shouted loudly, his eyes burning with furious anger.

”The mistake was you shouldn’t have let him be caught by the Iron Law Bureau.”

Erin froze.

”You think I let Ivar go, allowing you to easily escape my sight? If you had taken Ivar away from all the strife, allowed him to spend his remaining life well, then no one would have bothered you.

All these errors were caused by you! He became a bargaining chip for negotiation with the Iron Law Bureau, and the Viking nations will not succumb to threats, absolutely not!”

”So I came to kill Ivar!”

Hebdo and Ivar were close friends, yet speaking this now he was rather calm, as if he was about to kill just an inconsequential person.

”I will rescue Ivar, and then I will give him a weapon, allowing him to fight me. Of course, I will win in the end. I will let him die as a Warrior, so his faint-hearted soul can return to the Heroic Spirit Hall, reuniting with Rodbrock ancestors.”

From the start this was never a rescue plan, from the start Hebdo came to kill Ivar, ensuring he died as a Warrior, as for the ensuing war, it was rather insignificant.

This was the revenge and plunder of the Viking nations, a ritual with Ivar as the sacrifice.

Erin froze, her body trembled uncontrollably, she lacked the strength even to hold the Folding Blade, letting it slip and fall with a crisp sound.

She was a smart woman, but at this moment her mind was in complete chaos, unable to think of anything.

Erin had also regretted countless times, she merely regarded Ivar as just a work target, when the Iron Law Bureau arrived, her work was over, yet when the Bureau’s ship appeared at the horizon’s edge, Erin’s heart was filled with panic.

She regretted it, she didn’t want this, at this moment she realized she had already fallen for Ivar, but she no longer had time to change everything.

”No... you can’t kill him.”

Erin picked up the folding blade and pointed it directly at Hebdo. She had always appeared composed, but now she seemed like an unruly shrew.

”Let me take him away. This time, I won’t let anyone catch him. Please believe me.”

Hebdo looked at Erin with pity. He never thought that proud Erin would have such a moment, pleading for his forgiveness here.

He felt tired, yet happy for Ivar.

He reached out and casually pushed the folding blade aside, calmly responding.

”That’s what I intended to do.”

Erin thought she misheard.

”I’m his friend. His life has been bad enough. To be killed by his good friend in the end, how painful it is to imagine...”

”And Ivar talked to me too. He thinks the place like the Heroic Spirit Hall is a kind of hellish cycle, and he doesn’t want to go to that ghostly place after he dies, so dying as a warrior is also out of the question.”

Hebdo walked towards the end of the darkness, smelling the heavy stench of blood in the air, searching for the source of the scent.

”Really?” Erin asked.

”Fake,” Hebdo replied mercilessly, ”In my plan, I would kill Ivar here and then hunt you around the world, making you pay the price.”

”But now it’s real. Take Ivar away, escape to a place where no one can find you. This is the last thing I can do for him as a friend, and don’t disappoint me a second time, Erin Adler.”

Hebdo’s voice carried the cold of winter.

”Otherwise, I will spend my lifetime making you pay.”

Erin did not reply but followed Hebdo, holding the folding blade. She felt her cold blood warm at this moment.

The destined tragedy was overturned. She would take Ivar away. The world is still large, with many places not visited, and there is so much beauty to witness together.

Yes, the future is beautiful.

Erin still remembered Ivar mentioning beauty. He wanted to see warm places and witness things he hadn’t seen.

There are so many things worth doing together...

The sight of corpses interrupted Erin’s thoughts. Coming back to her senses, she smelled the overwhelming scent of blood. The ground beneath her feet was completely covered in blood, which seemed to have existed for a long time, dried into a crimson carpet.

It was as if hell and reality had intertwined, while Erin still fantasized about a beautiful future, she had already entered into it.

”Hebdo...”

Erin was about to call out Hebdo’s name but found he stood like a statue.

She went up, seemingly seeing something, and also froze.

The fantasy shattered, collapsing into a ground of powder.

It all felt like when caught by the Iron Law Bureau, the beautiful wishes shattered, and when Ivar truly left, Erin realized her thoughts and her foolishness.

She had been immersed in it for too long, so long that she couldn’t even distinguish the so-called love.

Breathing painfully.

Erin was skilled at manipulating people’s hearts. She understood some psychological reactions, but now, no matter how she thought of her memories, she couldn’t find the source of her pain.

She felt a large hand emerging from her stomach, gripping the intestines into a mass, breaking her spine inch by inch, and then snapping her ribs one by one, tormenting her lungs making her suffocate, finally crushing her vivid heart.

Erin slowly crouched down, huddled up, covering her ears like a frightened child.

All the light, all the sound, all the matter, everything.

Everything was retreating, escaping from around Erin, leaving her alone in a pitch-black world.

The only light vanished, leaving her so lonely.

Hebdo repeatedly took deep breaths, striving to prevent his emotions from collapsing at this moment, after all, crying was considered a disgrace to him.

He pretended to be strong, looked around, observing the ground filled with corpses and blood. He could imagine the crazed slaughter, forcing a smile on his face.

”Well done, Ivar Rodbrock.”

Without any hesitation, he grabbed Erin’s clothes, dragging her out of the darkness.

”What else needs to be done, Hebdo?”

Erin murmured, gazing blankly into the depths of darkness.

”I must avenge my friend.”

Hebdo’s voice trembled slightly, unable to contain his sadness.

”And you must atone for your sins.”

Listening to those words, Erin’s vacant gaze gradually regained its brightness, she tightened her grip on the folding blade, broke free from Hebdo’s hand, and stood up from the ground.

They both lost their expressions, walked towards the light, stepping into the cycle of despair.