Gun of Ashes

The Winchester Law Firm had a rare visitor, adding some life to the lifeless room.

Some people can remain unflustered even when the mountains crumble before them; that’s called composure, a trait of heroes among men. Red Falcon could manage that too. He wouldn’t just stay calm; he might even laugh out loud, exclaiming ’whoa, fuck!’ a few times in surprise.

Sometimes Lorenzo thought that this, too, was a form of composure, albeit taken to the extreme.

Red Falcon had been let in on some secrets, information related to the truth of the world, but unlike the other guys who were frowning and worried, he remained indifferent. He leaned against the wall, dirty all over, eating fruit from a basket, the picture of someone who didn’t consider himself an outsider.

He carried the smell of dust, as if he had just crawled out of some mine. As he moved, Lorenzo could see the dirt crumbs falling from him.

”How are the others?”

Lorenzo started to chat with him casually.

”Not too well. Everyone’s wearing a terrible expression, like their salary got completely docked.” Red Falcon said while shaking his head.

”I know the truth isn’t exactly cheerful, but as they say, whether you’re vexed or not, the problem remains, so why not just take it easy, don’t you think?”

At Red Falcon’s response, Lorenzo nodded vigorously in agreement.

After departing from the World’s End, when Lorenzo boarded the Morning Glow Advance for the return journey, he felt none of the elation of survival that others did. Instead, he was filled with pressure, a pressure he couldn’t release and had no one to share it with, forced to bear alone the terror and dread from the secrets he knew.

Along the way, he frequently suffered sleepless nights, while the crew, upon seeing him, would cheer his name and hail him as a hero.

Indeed, Lorenzo was a hero; few in this world could return from the Silent Sea. When the Morning Glow Advance reappeared in the Viking nations, even the King of the Ice Sea couldn’t help but take notice, marveling in awe.

Yet Lorenzo felt no honor in being a hero, as the responsibility brought by the secrets was too heavy.

This unfortunate world was in dire peril, with two more terrifying monsters awakening from their long slumber. They battled each other, but regardless of the outcome, the threat persisted. Not to mention another more grotesque monster was attempting to awaken from its slumber.

”One must be optimistic, going gaily to slay the enemy.”

Lorenzo muttered to himself.

He was starting to lose his sense of role; sometimes Lorenzo was as mighty as a bloodthirsty monster, but more often than not, he felt like a helpless mortal.

On many nights, Lorenzo would wake up startled, the monster named Lawrence crawling out of his nightmares, laughing hideously and mocking Lorenzo’s failure.

Lawrence was right; he had foreseen this mad future long ago, becoming mad himself for it, going so far as to seize the ”Revelation,” draw forbidden blood, and mold a legion of demons.

Many times, Lorenzo cursed in his dreams, but when it came time for him to make a decision, he was terrified to find that he might make the same choice as Lawrence.

Only a demon can kill another demon.

To win this war against demons, humanity needed more demons.

More forbidden blood.

More... Demon Hunters.

”Lorenzo?”

Red Falcon’s voice pulled Lorenzo back from his thoughts, his body lightly trembling, as if he had just woken from a particularly bad short dream.

”What’s up?”

Lorenzo asked, finding himself often lost in thought recently, allowing darkness to envelop his thoughts, leaving him alone to rage.

”I think being excessively optimistic would actually seem pretty weird.”

Red Falcon was so carefree that he didn’t notice Lorenzo drifting off or his vicious expression just moments ago. He continued to eat his apple, speaking to himself.

”Think about it, Lorenzo. On a battlefield strewn with flesh and blood, you’re fighting under heavy artillery fire, laughing aloud as you kill in the smoke... Imagine that scene.”

Red Falcon suggested Lorenzo ponder this, his own expression peculiar.

”To be honest, if I were your teammate, I’d think your mind wasn’t quite right… just like now.”

Lorenzo stopped speaking. Indeed, under extreme pressure, some people crumble while others suddenly understand. Lorenzo was the latter, being overly optimistic and humorous to avoid being crushed by the pressure, causing those around him to be somewhat frightened.

A few days ago, when Selyu came to see Lorenzo, he watched Lorenzo singing, wearing a bathrobe and holding a gun grip, and couldn’t help but sincerely comment.

”Has the great Mr. Holmes finally gone mad?”

Hearing Selyu’s remark echoing in his ears, Lorenzo sighed helplessly, then wiped the smile off his face, turning serious again.

”So, is everything settled?”

”Of course.”

Red Falcon smiled confidently, shaking the dust off himself.

”If things weren’t settled, I wouldn’t come find you.”

”What about the stuff?”

Listening to Lorenzo’s question, Red Falcon pointed outside the door. When he came in, he hadn’t closed the door, leaving it ajar to reveal a carriage parked outside the Winchester Law Firm, with a group of men in black unloading something from it.

Red Falcon adjusted his sitting position, looking at the map hanging at the end of the long table, covered in red crosses; one cross was particularly familiar to Red Falcon, having just hurried back to Old Dunling from that very spot overnight.