Gun of Ashes

Selyu had left, and under the night sky, Cork Street 121A appeared unusually peaceful. It was like a slumbering old man, quietly nestled in the corner of the street, with nothing but the flickering sign breaking its serene monotony.

Lorenzo tidied up his room, piling up the trash in a corner and scrubbing the moldy spots clean. Although it wasn’t exhausting, it was bothersome. To Lorenzo, it was no easier than slaying a demon.

After a rough clean-up, Lorenzo returned to his room, climbing the stairs to come before two doors. Perhaps it had been too long since he’d seen them, but at this moment, Lorenzo felt a strange emotion.

For a brief instant, he recalled the past. The other door was half-open, with the sound of loud snoring echoing from within… Sadly, there was no going back. Since that storm, Lorenzo had locked Hig’s room; everything inside remained as it was when he left, as if he might suddenly return one day.

Without overthinking, after so long, Lorenzo had already accepted what had happened then. He pushed open his own door and sat by the window, gazing at the dim street.

He turned on the radio, and after the noisy static, the host began discussing neighborhood matters. Picking up a bottle of unknown origin and age, he sniffed it. Considering that a Demon Hunter won’t die from food poisoning, he took a swig.

It was just nightfall, and there were still pedestrians on the streets. Some young people had just come out of a bar, staggering and shouting loudly as they walked. Finally, they leaned against a streetlamp, clinging to the pole and vomiting intensely.

Seeing this scene, Lorenzo couldn’t help but laugh. It felt like watching small animals in their natural habitat. After vomiting, the young man lay on the ground, while his friends erupted in waves of laughter. Eventually, one of them stepped into the sticky vomit, slipped, and fell by the roadside.

In this light, the world still seemed quite joyous.

Lorenzo retracted his gaze and looked around the empty room. At this moment, Lorenzo realized he was somewhat bored. At such times, besides going to bed, he couldn’t think of anything else to do.

With this thought, he climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and the streetlamp’s light cast through the window, dimly illuminating a corner of the ceiling, where some haphazard posters were pasted.

Advertisements for new shops, travel flyers, and some bizarre gathering notices with different printed dates—some from months ago, some from years past.

”Ah… how quick it is.”

Looking at the familiar posters, memories flooded back in an instant. At this point, he had a hindsight realization, turning to discover that so much time had passed.

There were also some newly posted ones, though most were cut-out pieces of newspaper. On the black-and-white pages, Selyu’s face was blurred, with a bold headline beside it reading ”The Young Duchess,” along with an up-to-date exclamation. People marveled that this might be the largest rainy season Old Dunling had seen in years, followed by a flyer from the Orthodoxy.

These strange things formed Lorenzo’s new life, and seeing them, he felt a bit incredulous that he’d been in Old Dunling for so long.

Upon careful thought, his mentality and everything had completely changed.

Previously, Lorenzo was indifferent to the people and events around him. Whether the world ended or not made no difference to him, but now he rare loved this world; he couldn’t just let it all fall into flames.

Slowly closing his eyes, light seeped through the gaps in his eyelids; Secret Blood rose, and his heart began beating violently.

Authority·Gabriel.

At the end of Maruri Port, to escape from Lawrence’s pursuers, Lorenzo stepped into the darkness, crossing the [Boundary], disturbing the Silencers.

From Lorenzo’s current understanding, these creatures wouldn’t easily let him go. He pondered when they might appear; it was an implicit crisis.

However… more than anything, it was curiosity.

Based on Shermans’ notes and the information Lorenzo learned afterward, the truth of the Red Signal event was already apparent. He awaited Merlin’s news, only to thoroughly confirm everything.

Now, Lorenzo was very curious. It felt as if an invisible force was enticing him. The Silencers guarded the [Boundary], so what exactly lay beyond it?

Was the [Truth] he had been chasing all along, just beyond the [Boundary]? If that’s the case, what is their reason for guarding it so tightly, keeping everyone unaware?

Lorenzo wanted to try, just like at Maruri Port. He wanted to attempt again, stepping into the pitch-black darkness, crossing the [Boundary] to glimpse that mysterious corner.

Corrosion spread from within his body; his will slowly detached from his body. Lorenzo didn’t know where he would go. If he had to describe the sensation, it felt like he was diving, continually plunging into the depths of darkness, like a drowning man, enveloped by icy seawater, only to look down into utter despairing blackness.

Yes, just like at Maruri Port, letting his will and Secret Blood lead him, continually venturing into the darkness until he crossed the [Boundary], awakening those dormant creatures.