Gun of Ashes

”An event from the Demon Hunting Order?”

Lorenzo hesitated at first. For him, this was a story he didn’t really want to recall. Perhaps Bluebird realized this, as he continued speaking.

”Can you talk about how your Demon Hunting Order hunted demons?”

The question was broken down again, and Bluebird continued.

”For instance, some... peculiar demon hunts.”

In recent years, the Purification Mechanism hasn’t encountered many demons, nor overly bizarre and complex battles.

”A bedtime ghost story?”

Lorenzo chuckled, not expecting Bluebird to be interested in such things.

”You wouldn’t be wrong to think of it that way... In reality, the Purification Mechanism and the Demon Hunting Order are very similar organizations, but fundamentally, they are completely different.”

”The Purification Mechanism is established on science, formulas, and theories, while the Demon Hunting Order is driven by divine authority and faith.”

”It’s even said that while we are similar, we are completely opposed.” Bluebird expressed his confusion.

They can be considered to have the same goals, yet grow their iron branches to resist darkness in completely different ways.

”Yeah, you guys hid deep, the Demon Hunting Order never discovered your existence.”

Lorenzo stared at the flames in the fireplace, his eyes narrowing to slits as if he were recalling the past. But the once-clear past became a chaotic and blurred picture in his mind, making it hard for him to distinguish.

This situation actually began since he returned from the dead; Lorenzo seemed to have prematurely entered senility, with fragmented and chaotic memories flooding in.

”The Demon Hunting Order always used the power to combat demons as a leverage to threaten nations. Ingwig didn’t want to be balanced by it, so they developed in secret, even at the expense of making deals with steam technology and Jiuxia.”

Like closed-off weaponry power, the Evangelical Church monopolized it all until the Far East’s power intervened, breaking the stagnant waters and stirring waves.

”According to the Evangelical Church’s conduct, you would be regarded as heretics, followed by Demon Hunters entering the scene, crushing your immature technology again to ensure superiority in the power to combat demons.”

But then Lorenzo suddenly smirked.

”Luckily, they played themselves to death, otherwise we might have been at each other’s throats right now.”

Every time he thought of this, Lorenzo gained a deeper understanding of Merlin’s words about the death of Alchemy. The mysterious force will eventually be eradicated from human life and should never take dominance. Losing the ’Revelation’ caused the Evangelical Church’s Secret Blood technology to be tightly locked, serving as a warning to the Purification Mechanism.

Cursing the Evangelical Church made it much easier for Lorenzo to accept, as for him, that period was beautiful yet cruel.

The long night was dull and boring, so Lorenzo slowly brought the topic back.

”Then... let’s treat it as a strange demon hunting story to listen to.”

The memories gradually became clearer, and Lorenzo continued to speak.

”This is one of the most profound and special missions I remember. I can’t recall the specific details, but I can tell the general outline.”

Seeing him getting serious, the three of them quietly focused on Lorenzo beside the fireplace. No one could suppress their curiosity about the mysterious Demon Hunting Order.

A lone ancient castle, a cold winter night, quietly burning flames, and a group of people connected to darkness... this was the perfect atmosphere for storytelling.

”But before I tell this story, I need to state a few points first.”

Lorenzo said.

”Actually, when dealing with demon incidents, our Demon Hunting Order and the Purification Mechanism have entirely different approaches. We have no plans and no prior contingencies,” he recalled. ”Different branches of Demon Hunters perform different functions, so although called Demon Hunters, most aren’t on the frontline combating demons.”

”For example, I’m a Medanzo branch Demon Hunter; our task was to guard the Saint Nalos Cathedral and rarely even leave the Seven Hills.”

”However, before actually assuming duties, we all undergo a period of practical training... essentially dragging Demon Hunters from all branches to go hack a few demons, just like an internship.”

The three of them looked at him oddly, possibly thinking only someone as eccentric as Lorenzo could describe such a life-threatening task as an internship.

”You invented the Geiger Counter to detect demon corruption, but we’re different. Investigation mainly relies on local churches, supplemented by Shangdafeng Demon Hunters’ foresight.”

”Sounds backward... possessing superior power yet using primitive methods for reconnaissance,” Joey said.

”So the Evangelical Church is an artifact from the old era...” Lorenzo said, ”Due to the scarcity of Demon Hunters, we often patrol in small teams.”

”Without efficient means to scout demons, many times the intelligence reported by local churches was incorrect. People would report something strange as demon-related.”

”So we actually didn’t frequently encounter demons, but this case was very complicated, extremely complicated.”

Lorenzo furrowed his brows, recalling the process of that time.

”Our team received news, then proceeded to a small town located in the valley. The town was geographically remote, with very little interaction with the outside world. We got information about the place from a report by a mailman.

He was terrified, as if he had been corrupted by demons, his spirit nearly collapsed. After leaving the valley-town, he was found by nearby travelers. This event was noticed by the priests, and it was through him that they extracted information about the town, prompting Demon Hunters to step in.”

Lorenzo looked at the three of them, his speech slowing down. The cold gale seemed to howl like monsters outside the walls, leaving only them in the silence.

”When we arrived at that town... it was like a miniature Old Dunling.”

As Lorenzo continued slowly, he seemed to return to that distant past.

”The town was in a valley, with inconvenient transportation, buildings that seemed several centuries old. The valley was shrouded in mist, much like Old Dunling, but worse. The towering mountains completely blocked the light, making it impossible to distinguish day from night at times.”

Unable to help it, he reached into his pocket but found it empty, remembering his cigarette case didn’t come back to life. Briefly mourning, he continued.

”We Demon Hunters are very sensitive to the presence of demons, you could say we’re like a Geiger Counter. Most times, upon arriving at the scene, we can tell if it’s demon-related.

But this time was special; we couldn’t detect any corruption, yet could clearly feel the eerie atmosphere pervading the town.”

Lorenzo reminisced about the gray town, which maintained that strange grayness regardless of day or night.

”Precisely because of that indescribable eerie feeling, we didn’t retreat but chose to uncover the truth.”

Lorenzo paused for a moment, then said.

”We named that mission... Valley of Horror.”