Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo needs rest right now.

”Whew...”

He sighed deeply, as if trying to squeeze all the air out of his lungs, and slumped comfortably into the sofa.

When he first returned to Ingwig, Lorenzo had a gloomy face every day. Every time Eve saw him, she said he looked like he was bearing a great grudge.

Well, she’s not wrong.

Anyone who had learned the brutal truth of demons descending upon a crumbling world would probably feel terrible too. Lorenzo thought he was handling it relatively well; others might have gone insane by now.

Back then, Lorenzo was exceptionally anxious. After his recovery, he began training himself, frequently visiting the Purification Mechanism to inquire about the technical progress of Merlin’s Armor of Original Sin.

Lorenzo didn’t know how to deal with the future he envisioned. He was panicking, but beyond improving his combat abilities, he couldn’t think of any other solution.

This anxious feeling persisted for several days, and then suddenly, he felt relieved.

At least the world was still safe for now, and he had plenty of time. Rather than being so frantic, it was better to think carefully about what to do next.

This is why Lorenzo became the way he is now.

Rest and recharge, he was ready to speak to the queen about matters more important than any individual’s strength: the might of the entire kingdom. He needed Ingwig’s full support to uncover the cause of this apocalypse.

In short, everything was in place, just waiting for the day he would again step into the Platinum Palace.

The room fell into a peaceful quiet. Lorenzo and Selyu each went about their own business, seemingly in a cold war, but in reality, they always interacted like this.

Everyone knew each other well, and there was no need for meaningless chatter to enliven the atmosphere. Lorenzo covered his face with a newspaper, having worked for several days for that dagger, he could finally take a good rest.

”By the way, Lorenzo, interested in going to the Viking lands with me?”

Selyu suddenly asked, putting down the dagger.

”Not interested, I’m very busy.”

Lorenzo directly declined. He was busy running around to save the world, and worse yet, he couldn’t let others know about the apocalypse.

He pulled away the newspaper and looked at Selyu. In his heart, Lorenzo affirmed his thoughts once more.

Yes, he couldn’t tell anyone.

How could Lorenzo tell this girl that the world was about to be destroyed, and soon waves of demons would devour everyone?

What good would it do? Telling others when they have no way of coping, with some thinking he’s crazy and others might believe him, but then what? Live in anxiety till death?

Lorenzo felt it was unnecessary. This despair and fear should be borne by him alone, or by those who could truly change the world.

Just like many times before, Demon Hunters battled demons in the darkness, and when day broke, people would have passed another safe night, without any notion of Demon Hunters or demons in their world.

This was just fine.

”But... it’s not impossible,”

Lorenzo added.

His sudden change piqued Selyu’s curiosity about what this guy was thinking.

”In some time, I might... no, I will surely go to the Viking lands, maybe we could go together.”

At the world’s end, the Secret Keeper existed. No matter the reason, Lorenzo had to go there once, where he might find the answers he sought.

”Sounds good,”

Selyu showed a slight smile on her otherwise indifferent face.

The doorbell rang, and before Lorenzo could say ”come in,” the visitor pushed the door open and entered the room.

”Are you raising pigs in here?”

As soon as Bola entered, he was overwhelmed by the complex smell, reminiscent of the poor environment in the Lower City District, which he utterly despised.

”Probably?”

Feeling embarrassed, Lorenzo considered hiring a cleaner.

”Bola, why are you here?”

Lorenzo continued, knowing Bola wouldn’t visit unless necessary, considering him an immensely troublesome guy, Bola preferred not to deal with him outside of work.

”Regarding the Red Signal event, based on the intelligence from the Black Mountain Hospital event, under certain erosive influences, those corrupted and mad can briefly regain sanity.”

Bola, with a disgusted look, found a chair and sat down, speaking to Lorenzo.

”Merlin conducted multiple experiments and found that the process acts as a resumption of the halted erosion... do you understand what I mean?”

”I sort of get it, you made these patients eroded further, polluting their brains more.”

”Yes, though it sounds cruel, a newfound discovery was indeed made. Pushing the halted erosion ahead allowed these patients to regain brief sanity, making madness seem more like a self-protective mechanism…”

Bola’s words were interrupted as Lorenzo realized something.

”A defense of personal cognition, regressing the mind to a child’s age to safeguard against further pollution?”

Lorenzo found this intriguing.

”More or less, although data is inadequate to substantiate the conjecture, it might temporarily serve as a plausible explanation,” Bola continued, ”The period of regained sanity is fleeting, yet it has led to gradually reconstructing the Red Signal event’s rough sequence.”

”So what’s the exact sequence?” Lorenzo asked.

”I don’t know.”

Bola spread his hands, answered bluntly.

”I’m just relaying messages, the confidentiality level of this experiment is extremely high, probably due to demon erosion. Hence you’ll have to personally ask Merlin for the details.”

As Bola spoke, he massaged his temple, feeling exhausted from the recent days.

After the Viking lands allied with Ingwig, the Vikings in the Lower City District, assuming their identity was legitimate, became increasingly brazen, forcing Bola to suppress them several times.

”I came this time to inform you that Merlin plans to erode the former technical head to cause brief mental recovery and derive a complete understanding of the Red Signal event.”

Bola showed some curiosity; Lorenzo was evidently unrelated to scientific experiments, yet Merlin insisted Lorenzo must be present, or the experiment couldn’t proceed. He couldn’t fathom the reason and had to comply.

Lorenzo nodded, knowing full well why Merlin required this. During the Black Mountain Hospital storm, Lorenzo had warned Merlin about those unknown entities, and Merlin, restraining his curiosity, waited for Lorenzo to return before commencing this final step.

”I understand.”

Lorenzo took a deep breath; the rest was over, he had to save the world by unraveling all these mysteries.

”Hmm... sounds important,”

An incongruous voice interrupted, Selyu turned her head towards Bola, then looked at Lorenzo, holding the exquisite dagger.

”Duke... Duke Stuart?”

Bola was surprised. Until Selyu spoke, he hadn’t noticed a third person in the room. From Selyu’s position, she wasn’t deliberately hiding her presence; Bola simply hadn’t noticed.

”Please keep it confidential!”

Bola’s mind raced with thoughts but could utter only this sentence. After all, as a duke, he couldn’t confine her in Black Mountain Hospital for revealing this information.

”Oh, it’s nothing. I’m also a shareholder, as such, understanding the business development is something a shareholder ought to do,”

Selyu paid no mind to Bola’s urgency, effortlessly accepted this demon-hunting business, while the other members’ reaction remained unknown.

Perhaps the recent Viking skirmishes or the fallout from Gaulunaro’s escape rendered Bola’s mind foggy.

”I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow, see you then.”

Bola said as he hurriedly exited the fermenting room. Watching his demeanor, Lorenzo sniffed his collar.

”Is it... really that bad?”

”Yes.”

Selyu nodded seriously with a deadpan expression.

Lorenzo felt an overwhelming sense of shame for a moment.

Alright, before saving the world, I’d better tidy up the house first.