Gun of Ashes

Because of my answer?

Liya couldn’t understand why someone would kill a person for such a reason.

Just like right now, in front of her eyes.

Fireworks soared, blood splattered, and no one felt fear; instead, there was a fervor of sacrifice, chanting holy doctrines while committing the most sinful acts.

Many of them were meeting for the first time, completely strangers before this moment. They knew nothing of each other’s past, nor their present, yet for the so-called faith, they fought fiercely against one another.

No, it shouldn’t be like this.

”Liya!”

A familiar voice rang out, a dark shadow enveloped Liya, and grabbed her wrist.

Liya panicked for a moment but then saw clearly who it was.

”Hu... Hu ao.”

Her voice trembled, and she broke down and cried.

”Don’t be afraid, come with me.”

This time Hu ao held Liya’s hand tightly. It was because he didn’t keep an eye on her before that, when the conflict broke out, he and Liya were separated in the chaotic scene.

”Is no one stopping this?”

Liya followed closely behind Hu ao, afraid of being separated from him. She knew all too well what would happen if they were separated again in such circumstances.

The tragic sight of a man dying flashed before her eyes. He was a living person, yet in the end, due to such ridiculous reasons, he died without any understanding.

”I don’t know, logically the mounted police should have arrived long ago...”

As he spoke, Hu ao himself lost the courage to continue.

What good is it when the mounted police arrive? With the blazing inferno of the Yega Grand Theater, the entire scene descended into utter madness. There was nothing that could be controlled; the mounted police arriving would just add fuel to the frenzy.

”Where are we going?”

Liya frantically looked around. In the flickering light, she couldn’t determine who the people around her were. Perhaps others felt the same, but they were not frightened like her; instead, they were immersed in the revelry.

”To find His Eminence.”

Hu ao extended his fist and knocked down someone attempting to attack them. Luckily, his life as a sailor had given him a strong physique; otherwise, he might have ended up huddled in fear like Liya.

Feeling the pain from his fist, it was the first time Hu ao had actively harmed another person.

”His Eminence?”

Liya remembered what had happened earlier, the blast overturned the high stage, and His Eminence vanished in the collapse.

”Yes, His Eminence is still alive, though slightly injured. He has been protected, but we are still too few in number and can’t break out of here.”

Hu ao replied that if there is any place left safe here, it must be by Miguel’s side.

The believers firmly protected the injured Miguel and repelled several enemy attacks.

He was just a sailor, ignorant of politics and interests, yet now Hu ao instinctively realized that this was a premeditated attack. At the moment of the Pope’s enthronement, the followers of the Evangelical Church chose to attack; they wanted to strangle the Orthodoxy here.

Anger.

For some reason, upon realizing this, an uncontrollable anger surged within Hu ao. For a moment, he also wanted to join the battle and repel these attacking Evangelical Church members.

But perhaps because Liya was beside him and needed care, whatever he wanted to do, he first had to get her to Miguel’s side.

”So... why?”

Liya whispered softly.

It’s only a difference in faith; why must it come to this? These meaningless deaths and pain.

No matter how hard the girl thought, she couldn’t understand these things. She only felt sorrow and fear.

Liya had prepared well for this day. She wove many flower crowns and practiced the hymns for a long time with everyone. In her imagination, this day would end beautifully, with the warm church built in a barren place, maybe becoming a nun, or a scholar... she had many opportunities for her future.

All of it destroyed, consumed in this raging fire.

Liya was kind-hearted; she rarely hated someone, but now she could clearly feel the emotion named hatred in her heart.

She knew it was strange, but she couldn’t control it. These dark things spread wantonly, reaching every corner.

Blood soaked the theater square; the distance wasn’t long, but due to chaos and enemies, it seemed particularly difficult.

Hu ao could see the guards; they had reused the collapsed high stage like a simple fortress.

”It’s me!”

Hu ao shouted loudly.

The battle here was over, though chaos remained, people tacitly refrained from approaching here. Blood soaked the ground in pools, evidence of the price paid for this brief respite.

”Your Eminence, are you okay?”

After overcoming the defenses, Hu ao’s first action was to walk into the depths of the ruins and ask with concern.

Unlike the madness outside, the atmosphere here carried a sense of oppression, and there were injuries all around.

”Hu ao?”

A voice called from the depths, followed by an old man limping out.

Miguel’s situation wasn’t too bad; his face had some scratches, his left leg broke when he fell but, simply bandaged, he could still barely stand.