Gun of Ashes

So the corridor was unexpectedly quiet. You could only vaguely hear someone breathing, as if a guard were standing in some hidden corner.

It was so silent, so dim, so distant, until the sudden intrusion of footsteps shattered it.

The hatch opened, and a soft light spilled down.

”Ah!”

Cliff let out a bestial roar on the spot, craving the light like a moth flinging itself into a flame.

He tried to slam aside the figure in the doorway and flee this dead end, but before he could even launch an attack, the cabin seemed to spin and then he was slammed heavily to the floor.

”Using these will make you feel a bit better.”

Lorenzo directly straddled Cliff and injected him with the Florun Potion.

He had gone halfway when he suddenly realized all this; he learned that Blue Jade had already been wounded and taken in for treatment by Galron and the others, while Bola, exhausted, had gone to rest first. Lorenzo himself had been unconscious before.

He suddenly noticed that no one seemed to be looking after these few guys, so he had hurriedly turned back and brought a few vials of Florun Potion over.

All the way there, Lorenzo kept hoping these Vikings would be a bit tougher, at least not turn into Demons so easily; otherwise he might have to let the Gap invade in order to take what he wanted.

After what had happened before, Lorenzo was somewhat resistant to this treacherous Authority. The power was so mysterious, so full of uncertainty; in such a hostile place as the Silent Sea, Lorenzo could not afford any mishap.

In a sense, Lorenzo had already become the embodiment of hope. Everyone on the ship trusted him, believed that as long as Lorenzo was alive, they still had hope.

Being counted on felt pretty good, but the pressure that came with it also made it hard to breathe.

”Next.”

Speaking, Lorenzo walked to Galron’s side. The guy didn’t resist, letting Lorenzo inject the potion into his neck.

Very soon the drug took effect, and the chaotic whispers fell noticeably silent in an instant.

”What about Lord Froki? Aren’t you going to give him any?”

Seeing Lorenzo standing still, Galron finally spoke up.

The drug’s effect was spreading through his blood. The sensation made him feel much better, and then came those false illusions. Galron wondered if this potion might be able to wake Froki up.

”He doesn’t need it... that’s also why I came to you. I can wake Froki up, but I need you to cooperate with me.”

Lorenzo had long since decided how to deal with Galron and Cliff. These two were very loyal; as long as he got a grip on Froki, they would easily go along with him.

”Wake him up?”

A faint light appeared in those clouded eyes. Galron looked quite agitated, but he quickly calmed down again.

”What do you want to know? About the Silent Sea?”

Galron stirred his stalled thoughts, forcing himself out of the chaos.

”I can’t help you with that, Mr. Holmes... but as long as you can wake Lord Froki, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to tell you.”

Galron stepped neatly over the trap Lorenzo had laid and tossed the words right back.

”After all, once the lord wakes, we’re all in the same boat—on every level. We’ll have to help each other if we want to survive here.”

He stared fixedly at Lorenzo; a shaft of light fell into his despair, and he meant to use it well.

”Hm? When did I say I wanted to ask about the Silent Sea?” Lorenzo shook his head. ”When it comes to the Silent Sea, it’s entirely possible I know more than you do.”

”Haven’t you noticed yet, Galron? The whole purpose of this ship setting sail was to come here—to this sea called the Silent Sea.”

Lorenzo went on as he spoke, carefully watching Galron’s expression. Under the stifling weight of the Corruption and Froki’s mad despair, even the firmest will would show cracks.

”I’d think you should be very familiar with all this.”

As Lorenzo’s story unfolded, Galron’s expression grew extremely complicated, and then turned to fear—fear of what these people were doing.

In his mind flashed that silver-white Revolver, followed by Bola’s face. Galron steadied himself and said slowly.

”So you didn’t come here to take revenge on Froki?”

”Hm? Something like that.”

Lorenzo felt it was better not to make decisions on Bola’s behalf.

”It was you even ten years ago, and yet you still refuse to give up?”

Old memories began to surface before his eyes. Galron had thought he would never recall them again, but today they clawed their way out of the grave and stood once more before him.

”So you know about the voyage ten years ago, don’t you?”

Lorenzo fixed his gaze on Galron, slowly closing the distance. With each step he took, the pressure mounted sharply, until Lorenzo’s shadow covered Galron.

”Even if you weren’t on that ship, you must have heard Froki talk about it. That’s why you made that face when you saw Bola.”

Galron started, then realized Lorenzo’s true aim. He gave a wry smile and answered.

”I don’t know Bola, but I know that gun.”

That gun called Funeral Bell. It had left a deep impression on Lorenzo; he was always seeing Bola caressing it compulsively, often hearing him whisper something to it.

For a time, Lorenzo had thought Bola had some sort of mental illness—or maybe a fetish of some kind. He hadn’t thought much of it; after working with the Purification Mechanism for so long, Lorenzo had realized that all these veteran staffers had some degree of psychological disorder, and some unspeakable secrets.

Lorenzo had even given it careful thought, and finally decided that Red Falcon might actually be the most normal one among them... though that wasn’t quite right either. The man was foolish to an absurd degree, which in itself almost counted as a psychological problem.

”Oh?” Lorenzo smiled, then asked again, ”Is that so?”

He looked down on him from above.

”So, what exactly happened ten years ago?”

...

Pain.

A shrill pain spread through half her body. It crawled over her in a dense swarm, like an army of ants clambering across her flesh, gnawing at every bit of meat, tormenting her exhausted mind until she could no longer sleep.

Blue Jade opened her eyes and looked at the dim room. The air reeked of disinfectant, and a few bloody bandages and emptied vials lay scattered on the floor.

She slowly sat up and saw that her entire left arm was wrapped in white bandages, a splint fixed in place.

Because there were too many wounded, once Blue Jade’s condition had stabilized, she’d been transferred back to her own quarters to free up space for other patients. From time to time, one of the ship’s medics would come by on their rounds to check on her and regularly provide her with Florun Potion.

”Ah... looks like I still can’t do anything after all.”

Blue Jade murmured under her breath.

In her current state, she was of no help whatsoever to the operations to come; if anything, she had become a burden on the team.

In the dim room, she tried to curl herself up, but the pain in her body made it impossible. She could only sit there, dazed, leaning against the wall, until loneliness and despair began to creep over her.

She knew very well that this was the Corruption affecting her, but Blue Jade could hardly break free of it. She wanted to give herself another dose of Florun Potion, but remembering the medic’s warnings, she thought better of it—no need to cause everyone more trouble.

Blue Jade had always been a bit withdrawn. Probably it was the weight of her past that haunted her; even after all this time, she still couldn’t step out of it.

She wanted to do something for everyone, but each time, what she could actually do was so limited. Those things lodged in her heart, making her hurt, making her choke.

Thus the lonely atmosphere grew and spread, until Blue Jade simply couldn’t bear it any longer.

She rose slowly to her feet and tried taking a few steps, discovering that the injury to her arm didn’t affect her movement. Then she pushed open the cabin door.

After all, humans are social animals. Under the influence of the Corruption, loneliness became unbearably strong, driving Blue Jade out of her room in search of her own kind.

How’s Bola?

The thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Though Blue Jade was a member of the Purification Mechanism, she wasn’t close with her colleagues. Someone as withdrawn as she was didn’t really bond with people. If anyone could be considered even a slightly close friend, the only name Blue Jade could think of was Bola.

It was probably a friendship rooted in Ende Town that made Bola the first person to come to mind.

She stood in the empty corridor and looked the other way. Blue Jade remembered that Bola’s room was in that direction.

She had barely lifted a foot to head that way when a tremor of dread rippled through her.

”Who’s there?”

She asked.

Something was lurking just beyond that turn in the corridor—something familiar, and loathsome.