Gun of Ashes

In the dark alley, the demon’s low roar and nauseating blood aura made the atmosphere oppressively terrifying, until it was completely unleashed.

The grotesque shell was effortlessly torn apart, and Watson’s body was equally torn, with sprays of blood and flesh splattering against the walls, resembling a grotesque painting, dripping with blood.

Blazing white flames burned in her eyes, the light illuminating Watson’s body, altered due to the erosion, and lighting up the demon she had killed at her feet.

After the [Ascension], Watson, fully spiritualized, lacked combat ability in the physical realm. If she wished to interfere with reality through her void-like will, she needed a vessel, and the vessel supporting Watson was this young man’s body. However, the body was too weak to face demons, so Watson unleashed her power.

The erasure erupted and spread from within her. This was the prerequisite for [Gap] invasion, using erosion to affect an individual’s will, planting a beacon within to open the door to attack. Yet, this time, Watson wasn’t attacking.

She was keenly aware of the terror the man before her held, knowing he understood the world’s [Truth]. Perhaps her authority and the Church’s history bore his shadow. In the [Gap], Watson couldn’t easily gain the upper hand.

So the erosion was for resistance, or rather escape. Once she lost the vessel’s bearing, Watson would fall into danger. To buy time, she transformed the young man’s body into a demon, combating the demon transformed by Edelen.

Facing a crisis, Watson remained calm, her serene gaze fixed on Edelen, retreating slowly to hide in the shadows.

”I’ve been pondering this plague called demon. What is its source, and who is the [Patient Zero] that triggered all this?”

Sharp bone spikes protruded beneath her arms, like two sharp arm blades glinting dangerously. Watson set no hopes on these; she knew they posed little threat to Edelen.

”How foolish of me, I’ve long found the answer, yet never realized it.”

Watson spoke self-mockingly.

The moment she transformed the young man’s body, countless combat plans flashed through her mind. As she felt her body twist into a loathsome shape, immense fear rose from her heart, and she suddenly guessed the answer.

”We, without Secret Blood, separated entirely from the material, can still effortlessly trigger erosion, like an invisible Death God.”

Watson spoke in shock.

”We are the source.”

All past experiences formed a vague conjecture at that moment. Watson was uncertain of its correctness, yet it was the only answer she could think of now.

Facing Watson’s words, Edelen neither confirmed nor denied. Against the light, Watson couldn’t see his face, only the ghostly eyes set in the darkness.

”Lambs should honestly stay within the pen, for ignorance is your [Credentials] to survival.”

The Shepherd spoke coldly, and as he finished, Watson’s figure sprang from the darkness.

The conjectures were merely to influence Edelen. Many gaps existed in Watson’s guesses, but it wasn’t the time to ponder them; her priority was survival.

She was uncertain of how much disguise darkness could offer, but any advantage was welcome, perhaps allowing Watson a thread of chance.

The young man’s body transformed into a mass of misshapen flesh with countless sharp bone spikes protruding from every joint. It swung strikes at Edelen, like a creature wielding dozens of swords.

The narrow alley should restrict such strikes, yet Watson easily lifted the wall bricks, bringing smoke and rubble, while the bone spikes slashed at Edelen.

Edelen sidestepped most of the bone spikes, agilely stepping off the wall, leaping over Watson’s head, landing behind her.

Watson spun quickly and threw bone spikes at him, but he dodged them easily, fixing them into the ground.

”A fight for survival.”

Edelen’s words carried no emotion. Despite the confrontation, his stance held a slight stagger, as though this body attempted motions it normally couldn’t. The intense movement twisted his right ankle, and some of Watson’s bone spikes scraped him, with blood oozing from the wounds, showing no signs of healing.

This probing attack served its purpose. Observing these representations, Edelen, like Watson, also existed as a spiritual entity, merely occupying this body temporarily, not the terrifying body of the Silencer.

”What are you celebrating, just a mortal body?”

As if he understood all Watson’s thoughts, Edelen spoke timely, his voice laced with mockery.

”In my countless centuries of watching, I’ve hunted many like you, even stronger beings. I’ve faced countless difficult battles. Everything you do now is just a repeat of past fights.”

Edelen spoke nostalgically.

”I may not even kill you. A being like you might prove useful, perhaps as a member of the Watcher, similar to those dead-like existences, indistinguishable from death. How regretful when you think about it.”