Gun of Ashes

”To offend death, after you narrowly return, you won’t show respect for it. Instead, you’ll... want to offend it more, like trying to find out where its limits truly lie.”

After a brief pause, Dort gradually revealed the same expression as Gerri.

”Yeah, otherwise we wouldn’t have become pilots, right.”

Dort looked down at the iron plate beneath his feet, stomped it a few times forcefully, and his smile grew increasingly bizarre.

”This feeling of being ungrounded, truly unsettling and thrilling.”

...

The stream of fire continued forward; it wasn’t really flying. It was more like being thrust into the sky by burning force, just like a rocket.

Flame Holder pulled Peacekeeper upwards, continuously rising into the depths of the cloud layer. They could clearly see the blinding lightning flashing between rain clouds. It was then that Flame Holder ceased its propulsion, and the figures of Flame Holder and Peacekeeper slowed down, then separated at high altitude.

[The view is quite impressive!]

Roger’s voice echoed, marking not just a material clash, but also a battle of wills.

Two monstrous figures fell amongst the swirling skies, lifting their heads as if they could witness that splendid sun through the dense clouds.

Lorenzo did not respond to him. Flame Holder spread its wings, its massive Iron Feathers extending freely, shielding against the violent wind and torrential rain. Its rapidly falling figure slowed down in an instant.

The stars followed in close succession.

Dozens of fiery streaks dropped from beneath the Iron Feathers, resembling long nails of burning fury, transforming into a dense rain of arrows.

The sound of piercing metal rang incessantly, easily penetrating many of Peacekeeper’s armors, along with its flesh.

Yet, for Peacekeeper, this wasn’t much of a destructive force. The power Lorenzo held, Roger also possessed, and perhaps was even stronger.

The only difference between the two monsters was their foundation. Lorenzo controlled the newly manufactured Flame Holder, whereas Roger casually picked up a Peacekeeper, mutating its pilot and merging it with the heavy armor and Demon flesh.

The twisted entities didn’t end there. Under the pull of the tentacles, Peacekeeper had long lost its original form. At this moment, it resembled more a monster formed by iron and flesh, with its flesh entangled within the struck Iron Feathers, like a monster clad in an arrow rain of sharp blades.

[Trying to kill me with such power won’t do, Holmes.]

The flesh spread, and with Roger’s intent added, Authority manifested on Peacekeeper’s body, and dense Iron Armor began to proliferate on the extending flesh, with sparks spilling from its gaps, just like Flame Holder.

Lorenzo remained silent; he no longer needed to vent his anger with harsh words. Now what Lorenzo needs to do is act, and only act.

Besides the newly added thrusters, Flame Holder itself didn’t have much additional armament. In Merlin’s view, with Lorenzo’s empowerment, the manifestation of various Authorities on the armor was the best weapon.

Yet even so, some new additions and preserved features remain.

Plucking out another Iron Feather, under the infiltration and support, flesh also spread within Flame Holder’s body.

A cable pierced through the rain curtain, soon embedding into Peacekeeper’s shell.

The cable retracted, and the spread wings quickly retracted and merged. Flame Holder’s entire body turned into a sharp blade, sparks briefly bursting behind it, and with acceleration, it was like thunder slicing through the cloud mist.

Metal shattered, flesh torn apart.

In high-speed movement, Flame Holder’s Iron Feathers easily cut through Peacekeeper’s layered armor, even hitting Peacekeeper’s central framework.

Lorenzo had previously visited the Perpetual Motion Pump and roughly understood the construction of these Armors of Original Sin. The most crucial part wasn’t the power source but the central framework, like chains linking various functions and armors of the Armor of Original Sin together, akin to the human skeleton.

To shake the central framework is to shake the Armor of Original Sin.

[Not bad, but then what? What will you do next?]

Roger mocked, also tempting.

Lorenzo stood at the edge of the Abyss, just a step away from the pitch-black depths. He had gained the ability to confront Roger, but it was merely a confrontation, far from being able to kill Roger.

To kill a Demon, one must become another Demon.

The originally broken Peacekeeper was pulled by scarlet flesh, the proliferating flesh like winding bandages re-binding the fractured central framework, with tentacles frantically dancing, their ends carrying sharp blades.

Flame Holder opened its hands, and under high corrosion, Authority was released at this moment, countless streams of fire erupted again, falling from under the Iron Feathers.

Like a meteor shower falling, hundreds of dense streams of fire burned through the rain curtain, most hitting Peacekeeper and further destroying the Armor of Original Sin. The rest surpassed Peacekeeper, falling towards the ground and bursting with dazzling firelight.

It was like a saturation bombing, with raging fire consuming the rampaging Demons.

Peacekeeper, bearing the firelight, crashed fiercely towards the earth a few seconds later, falling into a cluster of buildings, raising dust several meters high.

Flame Holder, with its wings spread and thrusters’ reverse spray, quickly decelerated, finally landing steadily, crushing the foundation.

As far as the eye could see, there was water accumulation everywhere and mud, most of the warped buildings had already collapsed under the rising water, leaving only ruins.

If not observed from high altitude, Lorenzo would not believe that such a desolate place was the Lower City District, but it makes sense when considering the rampant illegal constructions here, along with being the gray area, right by the Thames River, the first rush of tides would destroy this place.

This was also a good battlefield, away from densely populated areas, and it seemed it was just him and Roger here.

Flame Holder advanced slowly, a stream of fire emerged from the ruins, crossing the water, brushing past Flame Holder, before eventually falling into another ruin, igniting towering flames.

[You’re quite a boring person, Roger.]

Lorenzo’s voice sounded.

[Do you understand me well?]

In the ruins, a grim monster waded forward; at this moment it bore no resemblance to Peacekeeper, only countless tentacles waving sharp blades, frantically dancing like whips.

[All of this, to you, is just a game, a game played for so long, so long that you’re already tired of it.]

Lorenzo did not rush to attack, instead softly speaking.

Previously, he was quite puzzled, clearly Roger and Ed fought so hard to save the world, yet in the end, they went their separate ways on completely different paths.

Lorenzo was confused for a long time until at a certain moment, he figured it out.

[Throughout this long time, you’ve tried too many things, whether meaningful or meaningless, even the wars to save the world, I think you’ve fought them countless times.]

Roger was silent, as if Lorenzo had truly hit upon something, and the monster briefly halted its madness.

[To an existence like you, everything has lost its meaning, of course, except for one thing...]

[What is it?]

Roger asked curiously.

Flame Holder remained silent; who knows how long passed before Lorenzo’s voice sounded again.

[The self-proclaimed savior that you are, haven’t yet tried destruction, the destruction of this world.]

[And... your own death.]

A clap of thunder rang out, the thruster in an instant gave Flame Holder massive power, almost instantly it sprinted to the monster’s forefront, and then hundreds of Iron Feathers crisscrossed like long swords.

These are the most lethal blades, forged from Pine Iron and Holy Silver, often Lorenzo didn’t consider them Iron Feathers but instead Nail Swords fashioned into feather shapes.

Thousands of tentacles were easily severed, the monster’s self-imagined powerful defense was insignificant before Flame Holder, as sharp Iron Feathers pierced through, transforming into countless spears protruding from the monster’s back.