Gun of Ashes

In the darkness, endless sparks of starlight erupted, so dazzling that they far outshone anything Blue Jade could ever unleash.

”Heads down!”

Someone shouted from the end of the darkness.

Blue Jade immediately let go of the searing-hot Aluminothermic Rifle; the exposed skin on her hands was burned, raw and crimson, but there was no time to scream in pain now. She dropped flat onto the floor at once.

The staggering Bola hesitated for a moment. His face was smeared with filthy blood, his expression completely unreadable. It was impossible to tell whether he had heard the shouted order, or if he had simply burned through the last of his strength.

Bola’s movement was textbook perfect, without a single wasted motion. He simply let himself fall straight backward, clean and decisive, like a corpse. A heartbeat later, the burning Aluminothermic Bombs crisscrossed the corridor, screaming past just above Bola and Blue Jade.

The dense firepower instantly suppressed and annihilated all the Demons. The high‑temperature metal clung to their bodies; the Demons flailed their claws, trying to tear the burning slag off themselves, ripping off great strips of their own flesh in their frenzy—utterly useless.

In that instant, the extreme heat charred their flesh and blood to carbon. Their skin was melted through, and the organs beneath were burned into ash as well. The Demons panted in agony, fine ash drifting from their mouths with every tortured breath; within their jaws, a searing red glow could be seen, and the scalding gases rushing past turned their airways into a single mass of viscous meat.

Like a hand crushing their throats, the Demons writhed in the twin torment of suffocation and burning.

Footsteps sounded. Folding Blade tore through the Demons with ease, his figure darting in and finishing off these half‑destroyed Demons with swift kills. He never broke stride, charging on like a mad bull and slamming into the few still‑standing Demons he hadn’t had time to cut down, bowling them over.

”Still alive?”

Hebdo came pounding up the corridor. He didn’t even pause, just scooped Bola up and slung him over his shoulder, then sprinted toward Blue Jade.

”More or less... First time I’ve ever found you Vikings even remotely easy on the eyes.”

Bola’s voice was extremely weak, but he still managed to crack a not‑very‑funny joke.

”Now that’s an honor.”

Hebdo grabbed Blue Jade in one big hand. His towering frame finally had a chance to shine: he tucked Blue Jade under his arm like a package and kept running. Though a bit bewildered, Blue Jade obediently let Hebdo manhandle her.

”It’s not safe here. I’m getting you to the medical bay first.”

Hebdo didn’t slow for a second as he rushed the two of them toward the medical bay.

”What about those guys? You leaving the Demons to them?”

Bola asked. Probably from blood loss, his mind was going muddy again. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out where Hebdo had suddenly appeared from.

”You’ve got to trust the patrol’s firepower. We’ve already taken down plenty of Demons on the way here. There just aren’t many survivors left. You two count as lucky—you held out until we arrived.”

As Hebdo spoke, the gunfire behind them swelled louder. The patrol squad leveled their Aluminothermic Rifles, keeping the Demons pinned. In this corridor devoid of cover, the Demons had nowhere to hide.

After entering the Silent Sea, Hebdo had led the patrol through the Morning Glow Advance on constant rounds. The moment he heard the gunshots, he’d started moving toward this sector, but there had been too many Demons in the way, costing precious time.

”What’s the situation now? How far have the Demons spread?”

Hearing this, Bola rallied a little. The condition of the Morning Glow Advance was critical; it directly determined whether they could complete the operation.

”Could be worse. A lot of people turned into Demons, but our containment was timely enough. Some nonessential areas are already sealed off; there might still be Demons wandering inside, but they don’t affect us. The important sectors are all heavily guarded.” Hebdo laid out everything he knew.

That news eased Bola somewhat. The Morning Glow Advance had been designed specifically by the Perpetual Motion Pump, with lock‑down mechanisms for every sector. If one area was overrun, they only had to seal it off. The Demons would still be in there, but for the moment they wouldn’t impact the normal functioning of the other sections.

”You should understand this better than I do. Your Purification Mechanism is supposed to be the specialist outfit for exactly this kind of scenario, isn’t it?”

Hebdo talked as he hustled up a flight of stairs. The scenes along the way were brutal—bodies and pools of blood everywhere. Clearly, Bola wasn’t the first unlucky bastard to run into Demons.

”And another thing—stop talking, Bola. You need to rest.”

This time Hebdo’s voice was deadly serious.

Bola could no longer manage a reply. His eyelids drooped, his gaze unfocused. He wasn’t unconscious yet, but there was nothing you could call ”awake” left in him either.

Blue Jade kept silent, her eyes fixed on Bola slumped over Hebdo’s shoulder. His condition was bad—catastrophically bad.

Bola looked like a man dipped in blood, his body smeared in scarlet—some Demon, some his own. Claw‑cuts crisscrossed him everywhere; his legs were punctured in several places. Worst of all were his cheeks and neck: those had been infested earlier by those red tendrils. Only when he tore himself free had Blue Jade realized the tendrils had left behind a dense pattern of tiny bloody holes in Bola’s skin.

It was like countless nails had been driven straight through his flesh. The sight was so horrific that even Blue Jade didn’t dare keep looking.

”It’s me! Clear the way!”

Hebdo shouted. Up ahead in the darkness, several small flames parted to either side at his voice. Only when they drew close did Blue Jade see clearly: they were soldiers, each holding an Aluminothermic Rifle, standing guard outside the medical bay.