Gun of Ashes

”Plague Doctor...”

Thinking of the Plague Doctor, Lorenzo reached out, took a vial of Florun Potion from his pouch, and injected it into his neck, bringing clarity back to his hazy mind.

Thanks to the Plague Doctor’s ”sacrifice,” although Lorenzo felt quite displeased at not being able to kill the Plague Doctor with his own hands, the departure did save a considerable amount of Florun Potion, greatly alleviating the resource strain, enough to support Lorenzo in leaving this area influenced by the Anti-Meme.

It seems the journey to the World’s End is about to conclude, but Lorenzo’s journey is not, and everything seems so long, with no apparent end in sight.

But... it’s not all that bad.

Once all this damned affair is over, there are still plenty of wonderful times waiting for Lorenzo.

He often fantasized about that beautiful life as if these imaginations could wipe away the dreariness of reality, but they were soon shattered.

[He’s not going to make it, Lorenzo.]

Watson’s voice echoed in his mind as the Black Angel raised a hand, pointing to the figure below the snow slope.

At some point, Froki had stopped moving. He lay in the snow, with blood continuously escaping from his body, staining the surrounding area red.

”Froki!”

Lorenzo exclaimed, rushing over. Probably due to the influence of the Anti-Meme, Lorenzo’s perception of his surroundings was continually weakening, so he often didn’t have time to take care of Froki.

He tried to lift Froki, but as he grabbed with both hands, all he felt was shattered flesh, accompanied by a gushing stream of blood.

Lorenzo stood there, dumbfounded, watching this body relentlessly deteriorate.

This was Froki’s limit as a mortal. He had been subjected to erosion and Anti-Meme successively and was ravaged by the power of decay. As a mere mortal, this was all he could do.

”Wake up!”

Lorenzo forcefully slapped the twisted, distorted face.

”I went to great lengths to save you, you can’t just die like this!”

Lorenzo felt extremely saddened.

In truth, he didn’t know who Froki was. When it came down to it, Froki was just a nameless person Lorenzo had dug out from the Anti-Meme; his life or death was of no consequence to Lorenzo.

But Lorenzo understood the power of the Anti-Meme. He must have recognized Froki at some point, otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed Lorenzo into this place to die. He might have been an enemy temporarily allied, like the Plague Doctor, or perhaps a friend who lived and died together. But no matter what... he’s going to die.

To die meaninglessly, with nothing, here.

”Can you invade his [Gap]?”

Lorenzo asked, hoping Watson would find something, but soon a response echoed in his mind.

[No, there’s nothing, his mind is completely blank, fully erased by the Anti-Meme.]

Lorenzo became momentarily lost in thought, but remembering that this power was born to target The Inexpressible, he wasn’t all that surprised either.

So... Froki was going to die.

Lorenzo could do nothing.

He sat down on the snow beside him, his mind recalling the tough journey, countless dead faces, and these sacrifices were just a small part of humanity’s vast history, not even worthy of being called a fragment.

”I don’t know him, Watson, and I don’t know who he is, but I’m sure this guy walked into this dead-end with me, and the regret is that I can’t take him out.”

Lorenzo muttered to himself. When facing the Truth of the Secret Keeper, he hadn’t felt such enormous pressure, not even when witnessing the Plague Doctor fall into darkness.

Perhaps Lorenzo’s mental stress had long reached its threshold, only to be released at this moment.

He looked up at the sky with a sense of bewilderment, having saved another’s Florun Potion; he could afford to waste a bit more time here, just a few more minutes.

Watson did not respond; she probably didn’t know how to comfort Lorenzo either.

No matter how powerful Lorenzo becomes, he’s still bound by the impurities of human nature. He will slay powerful enemies with an expressionless face, but also be tortured by nightmares into sleeplessness in the deep of night.

No matter how strong a being, they still feel fatigue, but that’s what it means to be human, not a monster.

[What are you planning to do?]

”I was just thinking about whether I should perform a mass for him; after all, I’m still a Priest, right?” Lorenzo said with some worry. ”But then I remembered, something like God doesn’t exist, and a mass is merely self-consolation.”

Seeming to think of something amusing, Lorenzo couldn’t help but chuckle, perhaps recalling the unorthodox demeanor of the Secret Keeper, rounding things off, he somewhat counted as a ”God.”

With so many devout Believers in the Seven Hills, praying day and night... What kind of expressions would they have if they knew God was like that?

Soon, his smile froze.

The pressure of the journey didn’t bring Lorenzo down, but Froki’s death made him want to take a short break.

Lorenzo indeed felt a bit tired, and if possible, he wished to have a good sleep before saving the world, or even better, have a full meal.

He pondered as a sticky hand grabbed his arm, and a grim face appeared in front of him.

”Nautical Chart.”

Froki, barely holding on, handed Lorenzo a wrapped Nautical Chart; he was covered in blood, yet it remained utterly clean, free from any dust.

Lorenzo stood there in a daze, never expecting that this guy wasn’t dead after all, the scarlet eyes filled with unwillingness.