Gun of Ashes

The scent of disinfectant mixed with the smell of blood swirled around Lorenzo, making him sneeze involuntarily.

Rubbing his nose vigorously, Lorenzo lazily leaned back, his gaze then falling on the Cleaners around him.

These introverted fellows were busy at the scene, struggling to carry away the injured. The survivors had all seen the appearance of the Angels, and from the regulations, it was clear these people were contaminated and needed to be isolated.

The entire Purification Mechanism was running at full speed. A clattering noise sounded above, as rails dragged supplies through various rooms. Steam rose at the end of the corridor, and the Armor of Original Sin knelt on the ground.

Although its size was too large, limiting its movement within the Perpetual Motion Pump to the rails, the Armor of Original Sin, when positioned in the corridor, could serve as a sturdy cannon for defense.

”The Workshop has been temporarily sealed off; the lingering erosion inside is quite strong. It won’t be operable for some time.”

A voice spoke from beside Lorenzo. Arthur approached, having remained above the dome, watching all the workings inside the Workshop.

”A terrifying discovery, Mr. Holmes.”

Arthur uncharacteristically lit a cigarette, his aged hands trembling slightly, unsure whether it was from erosion or fear.

He frowned, looking at the mess inside the Workshop.

The sturdy well walls were covered in scars left by a beast’s claws. Burned Armor of Original Sin lay fallen, blackened skeletons still emitting wisps of white smoke, with residual fires still burning, although being extinguished by a slight rain falling from the dome above. Gradually, everything returned to calm.

The Angels did not leave nothing behind; their shells turned to ash, scattered on the ground, covering the deceased bodies below, as if they had gathered dust over a long period.

”Did you know? Based on the Cleaners’ examination, the erosion inside has reached a horrifying level. A mere few minutes of exposure would turn an ordinary person into a Demon, and this power is merely the remnants left from the monsters’ battle... Just these remnants are enough to cause us countless casualties.”

Arthur sighed, believing that after many years of effort, although humanity couldn’t completely defeat the Demons, they should at least have the capital to confront them. Yet when this deeper darkness appeared, all he felt was a profound sense of powerlessness.

Angels do not perish, but humans do.

Arthur turned to look at Lorenzo. He did not feel joy in knowing this information, but rather deep fatigue.

In a moment, Arthur felt himself wavering. He wasn’t sure that by persevering like this, he could truly overcome everything, or if he was just maintaining a balance between humans and Demons, until a force in the not-so-distant future would shatter this balance.

”What will you do with these?”

Lorenzo asked. Silencers and Demons alike, their erosion carried Meme Contamination, spreading through various mediums. The Cleaners needed to strictly control everyone involved in this experiment.

Not just Merlin or Arthur, the informed, even the Cleaners themselves were to be part of the containment.

”Ordinary staff will undergo memory erasure. We aren’t sure if this method can protect them, but at least it can block the transmission of ’information.’”

Arthur spoke slowly, having simulated many preliminary plans with Merlin before the experiment began.

”The informed, like Merlin and me, will be on the Cleaners’ watchlist. If anything unusual occurs, they’ll handle us.”

”Do those Cleaners know about that?” Lorenzo asked.

”No, the original purpose for the Cleaners was to replace us should the Purification Mechanism become corrupted and uncontrollable by the Demons. After the Jiuxia Fleet arrived bringing innovative technology, they gradually evolved into a meme unit dedicated to handling erosion and contamination-related events.”

Arthur continued.

”They won’t know anything. They’ll just act on orders, even if the target is Queen Victoria, they would firmly pull the trigger.”

”What about the rest? Now that you have such precious information... Though this information itself is like a venomous curse, will people like you easily give it up?”

Lorenzo asked, curious about how the Purification Mechanism would handle this information.

One could say the information about the Silencers completely subverted the Purification Mechanism’s previous understanding of the Demons. Demons were merely byproducts of a plague; the real enemy was the bizarre erosion, while the Silencers, with their identities akin to Shepherds, were rather the protectors of humanity.

So who exactly were their enemies?

”With so many dead, will you back down, Arthur?”

Lorenzo asked, somewhat concerned.

”How could we possibly give up?”

Arthur said without hesitation.

”You said it yourself, so many have died, so many predecessors, and even more forgotten and unknown to us. After all these years, after so much has been given, we’ve finally reached this point. Do you think we could possibly give up?”

The voice was suppressed with joy, no... perhaps ecstasy would describe it better. Lorenzo looked at Arthur, realizing he wasn’t trembling from fear but from happiness — overwhelming happiness. If not for maintaining his image, he would surely have been jumping excitedly.