Gun of Ashes

Though Merlin appears extremely cold, beneath this icy exterior lies an exceedingly fervent heart.

”Think carefully, William, do you have any other information to share? Because of you, we might have to endure another Red Signal event, with many lives lost; I hope their deaths are not in vain.”

As Merlin spoke, he placed his hands on William’s shoulders, his voice carrying both severity and pleading.

William’s pupils slightly dilated; he seemed troubled, his expression twisted. Chaotic memories and erosion constantly affected him, and he was running out of time.

”Victoria Royal Family.”

He thought of something.

”Yes, the Victoria Royal Family! They must also know about these things. The reason I conducted the experiments privately was that they kept rejecting my proposals. From a profit standpoint, my proposal completely aligns with the Purification Mechanism’s goals. If I could discover and utilize the Shepherd’s power, it would be a great victory against the Demon, but they didn’t consent.”

William’s words began to tremble as his speech accelerated.

”Yes, they must know something, which explains everything. They know about the Shepherd’s existence; they know the knowledge of these curses. To prevent the disaster from spreading, they preemptively stopped us.”

But why haven’t they been attacked by the Shepherd? Or do they only know vague information, unclear to trigger the information threshold?”

William burst into laughter, marveling at the ingenuity of the design.

”This is an exceedingly perfect [Fence]; informed individuals cannot disclose all this to others. Even they themselves are barely surviving; everything related to this will be eroded little by little until no one knows anymore.”

A perfect closed loop, hiding those unspeakable secrets in darkness.

”What lies beyond the [Fence]...”

William asked.

In the void, the startled thunder responded to William’s inquiry as alarms rang out one after another. The erosion arrived shockingly, chaotic currents wandering within the well walls. Suddenly, the pitch-black Thunder Group appeared out of nowhere, instantly decomposing and destroying surrounding material, greedily devouring like an Evil Ghost.

”Prepare for combat, everyone!”

Lorenzo shouted loudly.

”The enemy can’t be killed, but its shell can be destroyed. Their primary nature is similar to Demon Hunter; more accurately, we Demon Hunter resemble them. But this isn’t important—show no mercy, fire at full force!”

Lorenzo had envisioned such a day, leading mortals to fight against these anomalies. He hadn’t anticipated everything unfolding so swiftly, quicker than he expected. But thinking about it, this wasn’t bad—the apocalypse was approaching; this was the prelude to disaster. No matter what, Lorenzo didn’t have much time left.

The Thunder Group’s surge ceased; after the silence, one pair after another of white iron wings unfolded from within. Enveloped by them, the Angels opened their eyes unemotionally.

Shepherd? Silencer? Or some so-called Watcher?

At this moment, none of it mattered—they were enemies, and the only path for enemies was destruction.

”What… are these damn things!”

Atop the dome, Bola could hardly believe what he was seeing. The incredibly solid well walls formed gaping holes due to the Thunder Group’s emergence. The metal edges of these holes turned red-hot, and the interior substance vanished entirely, replaced by the Holy Angels.

This was the Perpetual Motion Pump’s very reliable defense facility; neither Armor of Original Sin nor Demon managed to breach it. Yet in the instant the Thunder Group appeared, it crumbled completely.

”They’re not damn things; they’re enemies, Bola, kill them all.”

Percival, typically restless, became instead calm at this moment. She shifted the muzzle of the Lance, aiming at an Angel that had just walked out from the Thunder Group, pulling the trigger.

The deafening gunshot sounded, a massive steel shell ejecting with scorching residual heat. At the same time, a searing trajectory sprayed from the muzzle of the Lance. The heavy bullet tore through the air with a sharp whistle, visible dark red afterglow, then exploded upon the Angel completely.

The kinetic energy instantly flipped over the Angel; the exploding steel pierced into its body like a thousand swords, nailing it to the ground. The entire body blew apart, revealing blood-red flesh and fractured bones beneath. Logically, it should’ve been completely shredded, but countless red threads perfectly pulled the fragmented flesh together, preventing the body from entirely dying.

”Take William away from here, Merlin!”

Lorenzo lifted the Winchester, firing at the Angels. Now, someone like Merlin staying here meant death.

”No, I can’t leave yet. If these things really pose such a threat, all of us must stay within the Workshop.”

Merlin knew well; everyone inside the Workshop was now restless lambs. They had to unite all their strength to kill the Shepherd; otherwise, escape would only cause more innocent lives to be lost.

”Then stay far away! This is hardly enough room to fight!”

As Lorenzo shouted, intense gunfire emanated from atop the dome. The Lancer Cavalry began firing continuously; each shot was so heavy, like casting an Iron Spear. Each hit could severely damage the Angel, but unfortunately couldn’t completely kill them.

Bola also realized this point. Those web-like red threads were healing them, so the Sword Dancer suddenly leaped from the high platform, descending while grabbing the armor musket from the weapon rack.

He pulled the trigger, a scorching line of fire spanning the battlefield.

The melted iron fluid divided the Workshop’s bottom battlefield, briefly halting the Angels’ advancement. The scalding iron fluid fell on their bodies, flesh collapsed and healed, yet they seemed not to feel pain, executing orders mechanically.

This could be called a sacred scene; the Holy Angels crossed through golden iron fluid like living statues. Spiraled long nails protruded from their palms, yet before they could attack, a massive shadow landed, a sharp Giant Blade slicing them in half.

”Suppress them!”

Lorenzo shouted.

He moved like a difficult-to-capture ghostly silhouette, threading through the sword blades filled with Angels. Nail Sword tore apart one body after another, with uncountable scratches and wounds appearing on the armor.

Truthfully, Lorenzo felt the current situation wasn’t good. Before the battle stopped, they couldn’t leave the Workshop. Not only were there warriors here, but many. Like Merlin, researchers who were invaluable needed priority protection.

As for these enemies, although Lorenzo had fought them before, he hadn’t completely killed their counterparts... He might have the capability to kill them. Ultimately, controlling the shell were the Silencer’s wills, and Lorenzo could attempt to fight from the [Gap].

Such a thought flashed away, and Watson’s warning resurfaced.

Lorenzo hesitated, but in that moment of hesitation, a terrifying howl echoed.

A lone medical worker knelt on the ground, clutching his head, crying and shouting something. Then, bumps emerged on his back, swiftly followed by sharp Bone Spikes protruding, ripping his body into a grotesque form. In this intense erosion environment, with Angels appearing, he transformed into a Demon.

This was a perfect closed loop; to prevent the hazard from leaking out, before repelling the Angels, they couldn’t leave the Workshop. It was both a defense line and a prison. The longer they stayed here, the more easily the mortals’ will would be corrupt.

What should be done?

At Maruri’s port, Lorenzo had also triggered these monsters’ arrival, but he didn’t know the outcome. However, he felt Lawrence wouldn’t die at their hands, so after reaching certain conditions, they should leave.

Yes, it should be like this; just as they previously prioritized attacking Lawrence, instead of someone like him. Clearly, he was the culprit who triggered all this, yet Lawrence bore most of the firepower.

”Information threshold… priority level…”

Lorenzo thought of something, his gaze suddenly turning to the side, shouting.

”Merlin! Stay away from William!”