Gun of Ashes

”Why not look forward to it? After all, under these circumstances, nothing would surprise me.”

Another voice sounded as Selyu walked over.

The girl was also fully armed, with a folding blade and dagger hanging at her waist, and an unlit aluminothermic rifle in her hand. After encountering the Demon, Bola opened the armory, instructing everyone to ensure they were armed.

This indeed was a terrible night, not only the beginning of war but also the start of everyone’s nightmare, a nightmare whose end no one could see.

Suddenly, the deck began to tremble slightly as the elevator started working, causing Bola to look at it with a wary gaze.

The elevator reached down to the chamber at the bottom, which housed the Armor of Original Sin. Without Bola’s consent, no one else could activate them, and logically, the armor should be under maintenance now.

”I guess this is Lorenzo’s way of returning.”

Selyu quickly guessed the sequence of events, calmly accepting this barely considered new thing.

Sure enough, the Black Angel appeared on the deck again. Although it looked somewhat battered, with most of its armor damaged and fallen off during the battle, this did not hinder its actions.

Fuel tanks filled with lacquered antimony were inserted at its back. It glanced at Bola, then opened its wings.

Bola watched as the Black Angel departed, the stirred-up winds scattering his thoughts slightly.

”When you think about it, Lorenzo’s appearances are always interesting... Is this some sort of artistic pursuit?”

Bola glanced at Selyu beside him, who shrugged, as if to say she didn’t know either.

A few minutes later, a burning trajectory streaked across the sky. The Black Angel shot out a grappling hook, pulling itself back onto the deck of the Morning Glow Advance. The armor opened, steam gushed out, and amidst the swirling mist, Lorenzo crawled out from inside.

”Lo...”

Bola was just about to call Lorenzo’s name, but then Lorenzo’s figure collapsed, as if he had lost all support of strength, falling from the Black Angel’s back and lying unconscious on the ground.

Various voices called out, blurry faces filled Lorenzo’s vision, but he couldn’t hear or see them clearly; he was too exhausted and lost consciousness.

”What... what’s going on?”

Hebdo looked at the unconscious Lorenzo, momentarily at a loss.

This was too sudden, no one ever thought that the invincible Mr. Holmes would also have a day when he falls. In Hebdo’s perception, Lorenzo was synonymous with strength, nothing could defeat him, and no desperate situation could trap him. Lorenzo had never let him down; no matter what kind of formidable enemy, he could confront it.

But Lorenzo had fallen, right in front of his eyes.

”Ship doctor!”

Bola shouted, lifting Lorenzo forcefully, feeling his breathing was relatively stable though his consciousness was in a deep sleep.

The ship doctor hurried over, carrying a medical kit, conducting an onsite examination of Lorenzo.

They pried open his tightly shut eyelids, checked his heartbeat, and inspected his body for injuries. These ship doctors were quite professional, having received emergency training from the Black Mountain Hospital before boarding, which included how to care for Lorenzo.

As for the content, it was quite simple: apply excessive treatment to Lorenzo according to normal human medical practices, essentially disregarding medical conventions, and double the dosage of all medications; if even this couldn’t save him, then Lorenzo was probably beyond saving. After all, Demon Hunters were physically far stronger than ordinary people, bolstered by Secret Blood, they were like immortal monsters; when such a monster hopelessly approached death, what could ordinary doctors do?

Of course, an autopsy had to be conducted. As Dean Abigail would say, if Lorenzo accidentally died at the World’s End, these ship doctors must fight desperately to bring his body back, making a final contribution to the medical community.

”He’s fine, probably just too tired and sunk into unconsciousness. Let him rest for a while, he might wake up.”

The ship doctor stood up and told the others. Hearing this, everyone felt slightly relieved.

No big deal, nothing more than minor issues; Lorenzo wasn’t dead yet, and this guy would be energetic again after lying down for a while.

Bola also exhaled deeply; if Lorenzo had died or something had gone wrong, this operation targeting the World’s End might indeed be hopeless.

But this was also Bola’s first time encountering such a situation where Lorenzo fell into unconsciousness due to mental exhaustion.

”Is it because of you?”

Bola thought, looking at the Black Angel beside him, murmuring softly.

This was Lorenzo’s first display of such ability, making Bola wonder if the previous disturbances of the Black Angel were all Lorenzo’s doing. He thought he understood Lorenzo well enough, yet suddenly he felt the distance between them became very vast.

”Please take care of him for now. Notify me immediately if he wakes up,” Bola said.

The ship doctors nodded, lifting Lorenzo onto a stretcher and carried him towards the infirmary.

”You go with them too.”

Bola glanced at Selyu and said to her.

Selyu nodded, not saying much since she already planned to follow even if Bola hadn’t said anything.

Watching the disappearing figures, Bola stood there, somewhat lost, but the sound of cannonballs crashing brought him back to reality. Waves of smoke rose from either side of the ship, making Bola realize the battle was not yet over.

”Notar, speed up! Get us out of here!”

Bola rushed into the command room, shouting to Notar.

After a brief respite, Notar finally got dressed but still kept sneezing, indicating he was probably cold.

”Where do we go from here?”

Notar retorted, hitting the dashboard hard in frustration.

”Damn Demons, their arrival has messed up all these readings.”

Most of the pointers were spinning rapidly, even the compass, guiding the pathway, was spinning wildly. Peering into the night sky, heavy clouds once again closed in, extinguishing the moonlight bit by bit, until there was no trace, sinking into darkness.

”The residual pollution is affecting these; I can’t find the channel now.”

Notar had a solemn expression. In his sailing career, it was the first time he’d encountered such a situation. Although he knew about the existence of Demons, it was his first time engaged in a sea battle against them.

For a moment, Bola didn’t know what countermeasures to take; too much had happened tonight, and it was far from over.

The violent shaking echoed once more as a cannonball shattered along the edge of the ship, demolishing the railings for several meters and plunging into the sea. The turrets on the deck realigned and returned fire.

”Get us out of here first... at least put some distance between us,” Bola said.

After so many battles, the Morning Glow Advance was already battered. It still retained some combat power, but Bola wasn’t sure if they could continue to handle the threats in the Silent Sea if entangled for too long.

Moreover, judging from the previous battles, the enemy had little to no tactics, acting like a gang of frenzied beasts that pursued the Morning Glow Advance relentlessly. Once caught, it would likely be a fight to the death.

”Alright.”

Notar didn’t argue further, smashing the compass again, hoping it would function properly. Instead, the needle spun even faster.

He didn’t want to dwell on it, looked at the pitch-black outside, and unknowingly, the sea surface had lost all light, leaving only the Morning Glow Advance and the Iron Armor ships behind it, like chasing fireworks.

The Morning Glow Advance began to accelerate forward, venturing into the boundless darkness.