Gun of Ashes

Ever since the Ende Town operation, her appearances have become more frequent, like a ghost lingering around Lorenzo, sometimes glimpsed from the corner of his eye.

However, fortunately, she hasn’t appeared while Lorenzo was bathing or using the bathroom; it seems this damned devil has some conscience after all. But on second thought, showing up at such a time would ruin the ”ultimate mysterious creature” aura.

The black carriage was already parked at the door, its door open with Joey waiting inside for Lorenzo. Once the door was closed, the carriage sped off quickly.

”So, am I the one who decides how to investigate the case?”

Lorenzo leaned back on the soft seat and asked.

Joey nodded and then continued.

”We don’t care about the methods, only the results. This demon has been out of the Purification Mechanism’s control for too long. Since our establishment, no demon has survived this long.”

Joey conveyed the orders from Arthur.

”These are things you need to take, this is the communicator from inside the Purification Mechanism. Any intel will be relayed to you first. You’d better keep it with you at all times.”

With that, Joey handed over the communicator. Lorenzo curiously examined the intriguing device. In this era, telephones and telegraphs had already appeared, but radio communication hidden like this still amazed Lorenzo.

This stuff wasn’t discussed in university classrooms; it’s likely another product of Perpetual Motion Pump research.

Lorenzo tried asking Joey, but Joey shook his head, indicating he didn’t understand either, further confusing Lorenzo.

Sometimes, Lorenzo felt a huge sense of discord with the world, like the steam engine.

This device relies on boiling water to generate high pressure in boilers, then steam expands to drive pistons to work, ultimately connecting to generators for electricity production.

Right beneath Lorenzo’s feet lies the world’s largest steam engine setup, the Furnace Pillar System, the power from which drives the entirety of Old Dunling.

Yet, sometimes Lorenzo felt... it shouldn’t be like this.

Recalling those things within the Demon Hunting Order, be it [Divine Favor Baptism] or the mysterious Static Holy Temple, Lorenzo felt those things could change the world, but the Evangelical Church seemed unaware of their potential, sealing them away solely for the Order’s use.

He didn’t understand much about technology, but he could often sense abnormalities in the world, more than just demons, also the nature of human power itself.

Lorenzo couldn’t articulate the strangeness specifically, but sometimes he could sharply sense its presence, and it bothered him.

Sometimes he wondered about people saying the exchanges of eras, the old time departed, the new era arrives, those barbaric pasts replaced by the steam engine, so then... is there a day when steam engines also get replaced by something?

This wasn’t a lunatic’s fantasy; Lorenzo had seen within [Divine Favor Baptism], a world far more splendid than now. Lorenzo wasn’t sure if it was real or feasible, but it made him question if modern technology was truly the pinnacle of science?

The abrupt halt of the carriage interrupted Lorenzo’s thoughts. He really was someone who enjoyed thinking, finding it the best way to pass time. Yet this time, Lorenzo actually felt somewhat weary of it. He had never pondered these before, not even when encountering the Purification Mechanism’s shocking black technologies.

Joey didn’t let Lorenzo continue pondering and said.

”If we’re investigating, we should start from here.”

”What’s wrong?”

Lorenzo asked.

In the recent days, Lorenzo noticed an interesting phenomenon: once inside the Purification Mechanism’s carriage, it would automatically run without Lorenzo dictating the route, as if knowing where Lorenzo wanted to go.

”The speculation was confirmed; that demon isn’t dead, it committed another crime last night.”

”So urgent?”

Lorenzo stepped off the carriage, unsurprised by the demon’s survival, just not expecting such haste from it. He thought the demon would hide for days before acting again, but it seems it has no intention to rest.

Completely forgetting his earlier thoughts, the cold air surged in with a heavy scent of blood, even without Joey’s guidance, Lorenzo knew the scene of the crime.

”Another revenge?”

”Of course, it left a writing again.”

Joey spoke.

After pondering a bit, Lorenzo continued.

”Then we need to hurry, or we might never catch it.”

”Why?”

Joey was somewhat puzzled, surprised that Lorenzo, a Demon Hunter, would give up so quickly.

”It’s simple. This is the fifth dead person, over a month span. With that mortal’s will, it’s likely not long before he fully demonizes, then we won’t be able to get anything from him.”

Lorenzo spoke his analyzed result.

”And also, does he have so many enemies? This is the fifth one, if his revenge is complete, he probably won’t commit crimes again, posing great difficulty for our pursuit.”

”Or, his revenge isn’t over yet, so now, within this city, there’s an unlucky soul about to face slaughter whose fate entirely depends on whether we can catch that demon in time.”

After Lorenzo finished, there was a strange sense of responsibility, someone’s fate was now in his hands. Although Lorenzo didn’t know him, his life depends entirely on Lorenzo’s actions.

”Then... let me see.”

Lorenzo said, walking into the cordon.

The scene was gruesome, hard to look straight at, as bloody as the room Lorenzo had seen, an extreme amount of bleeding.

The scene was already surrounded by the Purification Mechanism’s people. Because the location was in the Lower City District, he initially thought those gangsters would come out to die, but apparently Bola’s deterrence was effective now; under his orders the vicinity was clean, even other gangs’ members tacitly stayed away.

Indeed, the deceased named Hughes was a gang leader in the Lower City District, someone typically tough to kill with followers wherever he went. Yet he still died, along with his underlings.

The remaining gang heads must also be terrified, knowing the monster could easily kill Hughes and them too. Judging by the cooperation level from gang members during questioning, their leaders deeply hoped Lorenzo and others catch the monster quickly.

”Do you have any insights?”

Joey seemed able to accept the bloody scene, coldly observing as blood smeared the alley’s end. Hughes’ corpse lay on the ground, flesh below the waist basically gone, shaved little by little to the current state by a razor.

”At first glance, he died from blood loss, pain prolonged for a long time. The demon really took care to torture him.”

Joey said.

”Where do you think we should begin?”

This should be the first time in Purification Mechanism history they investigate a case involving demons, for prior encounters with demons lacked sanity.

”Revenge...”

Lorenzo suddenly said, then chuckled.

”Actually, this case is simple. Isn’t this demon seeking revenge? Then we just need to figure out the cause for its revenge, don’t we?”

Recollecting the earlier victims in his mind, their statuses and identities differed, yet all were killed by the demon in the name of revenge.

”Give me the detailed information on the deceased. There must be some connection between them, leading to the demon’s revenge. If possible, we might even predict the next victim based on this connection.”

Lorenzo said, looking at the gruesome corpse.