Gun of Ashes

”Roger appeared again, he launched a surprise attack on the Broken Dome.”

Galahad said.

”I know, you don’t even need to say it, it’s obvious.”

At the edge of the rooftop, Watson stood there, looking up, seemingly observing the glow behind the clouds.

It seemed as if gods were in conflict behind the clouds, giant beasts of the world wandering beside them. Watson wanted to capture this scene in a painting, but unfortunately, she couldn’t paint and could only remember it with her eyes.

”He will gradually uncover the intelligence of the Purification Mechanism, can we really keep it concealed forever?” Galahad’s voice was filled with uncertainty.

”Who knows?” Watson responded calmly, as if nothing could affect her mood, ”But it’s still within control.”

”These sacrifices are necessary, the exposure of intelligence is expected. This act must be executed flawlessly, so flawless that even we are a bit uncomfortable with it...”

Galahad interrupted Watson’s words and asked.

”What if Roger continues the invasion? He could completely disrupt our plans. There’s no need to wait so long; he could even descend from the Broken Dome and completely destroy the Purification Mechanism.”

This was not an alarmist statement; it was entirely possible. From how easily he infiltrated the Broken Dome, Galahad was terrified of this.

Death Row and the Mechanical Deity moved forward in parallel, but one must realize that there are no absolutely perfect plans in this world, yet there are absolutely powerful forces.

Before absolute power, even the most cunning plot becomes insignificant.

Once they fail, even a slight mistake could lead to the end of humanity.

”Someone will help us,” Watson said, ”he will limit Roger’s actions until he finds an opportunity to completely kill him.”

”Do you mean Edlun? But...”

”In the first confrontation with Roger, it wasn’t just him testing us, but we were also testing them, probing both Roger and Edlun.

From this action, it’s clear that Edlun temporarily has no thoughts against us. His primary target is Roger. You could say that Edlun temporarily stands with us. Do you think he would allow Roger to slaughter?

As an entity against the Demons, do you think Edlun would allow us to be destroyed by Roger? If Roger continues as you said, going deeper, he will certainly encounter Edlun’s resistance.”

”But what if Edlun doesn’t come?” Galahad asked.

Watson was silent for a moment, and laughter sounded beneath the mask.

”Then he must be doing something more important... like finding Roger’s true form.”

Her gaze swept over the surrounding buildings, Old Dunling was so vast, the dense clusters of buildings stretched to the horizon.

”Now, two monsters are in this city, their true forms hidden within thousands upon thousands of miles.”

”You are betting everything on Edlun.” Galahad said.

”We have no choice; this was never a war between equals. We need to use all our strength and... a little bit of luck.”

Watson stretched out her hand, feeling the slight chill in her palm, with fine drizzle brushing over, skimming the metal surface.

The misty rain fell upon the city again, bringing more cold during this approach of winter. The citizens had become accustomed to Old Dunling’s dreariness, though few noticed such continuous drizzle had persisted for many days, continually cleansing the city.

”Here is our home ground. The Anti-Meme, aided by rainwater, is constantly seeping into every corner of this city, spreading continually and relentlessly.

In the darkness, you can discern the direction of the light, but when you’re engulfed by blazing sunlight, where should you look for the light’s trajectory?”

Watson narrated slowly.

”Roger has long fallen under the influence of the Anti-Meme, only he was misled by us, deeming this already flawed reality as the true ’reality.’”

”So, what does that do?” Galahad couldn’t understand.

”To cover such a vast city, the Anti-Meme had to be diluted greatly, so the effect is minimal, but what if we continuously increase the dosage?”

Watson stated calmly.

”Remember when you cooperated with Lorenzo to hunt down Lawrence? This is a similar scenario.”

”Roger casually traversed the [Gap], and the impact he caused is enormous. He could easily cause the entire city to fall. Now, we are continuously injecting Anti-Meme into this city, causing its ’common sense’ to distort. Being here for long, Roger would be misled by it, too.

All forces related to erosion will be suppressed, more importantly...”

”Increase the dosage, turning the entire city into [Wangchuan].”

Galahad thought of such a conclusion, feeling a sudden chill run through his body.

Then, the entire Old Dunling would become a ”carrier” of the Anti-Meme, and this is just to suppress and kill Roger and Edlun.

A silent tidal wave would sweep through every corner of the city, hunting down the remaining supernatural creatures, until they are eradicated.

”Is this... is this also a necessary sacrifice?” Galahad asked.

”Compared to those who died in history fighting Demons, those who will perish now are just a small fraction.

As for good or bad people... I never claimed to be a good person or the savior of the world, I just purely want to end all this. As for these titles, let those who come after decide.”

Watson’s tone was light, and with further Ascension, she became more like Roger and Edlun.

Humans need sleep, need food, and so on, yet Watson has long since ceased any of those. She actually had no need to try.

The so-called humanity continued to be stripped away from her, these burdens peeling off bit by bit, making Watson’s body light, almost to take flight, lifted by the casual breeze, ascending to the Celestial Kingdom above the dome.

”But don’t worry too much, Galahad.”

Watson tried to soothe him. The more she ascended, the more aware Watson became of the triviality of emotions. It’s been a long time since anything could stir her calm heart into waves.

So sometimes, Watson would develop a sense of mischief, like Roger, toying with life, watching their absurdity, while she herself long ago forgot such matters, as she too was once human.

”Old Dunling is too vast; neither we nor Jiuxia can achieve that extent.”

”Exists only in the realm of imagination, right?” Galahad asked.

”Hmm.”

Watson left the edge, and behind her, atop the towering spire, the Iron Whales were also slowly retreating, as if they had devoured their prey clean. As they departed, the swirling light in the sky gradually dimmed until finally returning to darkness.

”Is it true?”

Galahad watched Watson walking away and asked further.

What she said, was it true or false?

Watson turned her head, she didn’t speak, there was only an exquisite and cold mask.

Galahad looked at the patterns on the mask, his eyes extending into the pitch-black eye sockets, where there was only pure darkness.

He needed to blindly and stubbornly trust this being before him, who long ceased to be human, transformed into something beyond ordinary comprehension.

Whether the path ahead was right or wrong...

Galahad felt he entered a bifurcation, unsure whether to maintain his doubts about the monster, or resolutely execute orders.

He looked down at the street below the rooftop, where Mr. Cai’s presence had already ”diluted” in the city, their faint existence all around, silently spreading like a creeping virus.

Just waiting to accumulate strength, preparing for the explosive moment, the raging storm.