Gun of Ashes

Taking a deep breath, he struggled to suppress the pain and fatigue on his body, making his restless heart calm down again, just as the new Pope thought, Lorenzo was like a child learning to walk, not understanding the use of the ”Gap”, everything was being explored.

Honestly, Lorenzo really missed Watson now, although she was an unknowable Devil, Watson said a lot, she never harmed Lorenzo, she only gave Lorenzo choices, and the result of the choices led Lorenzo into an irrecoverable state.

This Devil was actually quite reliable. If he kneeled down now and kissed her feet, perhaps with the blessing of the Pseudo Holy Grail, he could directly defeat the new Pope in front of him.

However, Lorenzo also knew that Watson would not respond to his call; this peculiar existence must be plotting something in the dark. He understood, although it sounded a bit far-fetched, Lorenzo cared somewhat about dignity; he couldn’t bring himself to kiss feet.

Under immense pressure, Lorenzo’s thoughts couldn’t stop spreading. The body of the Gravekeeper was slightly shaking, but in the end, it stood firmly, clutching the Nail Sword, pointing at the new Pope in front.

Lorenzo wondered what would happen if he died here? After all, he was now in a ghostly state, ordinary iron shouldn’t be able to kill a ghost like him, right?

But what if? What if his consciousness were to vanish here? Would the main body of the Black Angel become like a vegetative state, losing vitality, eternally confined to a sickbed?

Lorenzo couldn’t figure it out. Without a mentor to guide him in this power, he could only explore and test it alone.

In the eyes of the new Pope, the Gravekeeper suddenly laughed, spat blood, wiped his eyes obscured by foul blood, full of fighting spirit.

No, perhaps death is just repatriation?

Lorenzo also felt that he had been a bit reckless this time coming home; he didn’t even know how to return to the Black Angel. If he remembered correctly, the distance from Old Dunling to Seven Hills was not ordinary.

Of course, these are all things he could verify, just as long as Lorenzo made a single mistake, and he would be killed by this new Pope with one blow. However, before being killed, Lorenzo had to do his best to probe this new Pope.

He was a Demon Hunter, a Demon Hunter whose faction and identity were unknown, or it could be said that he might have long been corrupted by Demons, and the Evangelical Church was just a lie.

”Come on?”

Lorenzo taunted.

The new Pope neither spoke nor made any superfluous moves, feeling a little unable to understand this visitor today. They usually remained silent, never responding to any of their words, simply executing the act of assassination.

”You... are a bit special.” He said.

”Of course.”

Lorenzo was referring to the Pseudo Holy Grail he carried, and to this day, Lorenzo still didn’t know what on earth this thing could do, yet another unsolved mystery.

But the small talk ended here, the moment the words fell, the new Pope moved. The pure white robe stirred up flames, like blinding pure white lightning, he was so swift and descended in front of Lorenzo in the blink of an eye.

It was like the pressure of mountains, although the contact time was so brief, Lorenzo could feel that he was far younger than Lawrence, far more powerful than Lawrence.

Not a power of logicality, but a kind of desire, humans are driven by desires, the greedier the desire, the more humanity can burn brightly, and he was like the blazing sun.

With no moment of hesitation, Lorenzo suddenly ducked, dodging the sweeping blade. As it swept past, the sharp humming filled Lorenzo’s hearing.

This was not a sword strike Lorenzo could withstand, at least not with the Gravekeeper’s mortal body. If Lorenzo didn’t dodge and chose to receive it as before, this time, it might not just be the Nail Sword that shattered, but also Lorenzo’s bones and flesh, all breaking under the violent arc.

After a missed strike, a whirlwind arose again, the Demon Hunter reacted far quicker than a mortal body, Lorenzo could only look for a chance to counterattack in this deadly gap.

He no longer hoped to escape from the new Pope’s hands, the mortal body was now the biggest burden. Even if Lorenzo hit the new Pope many more times, with the strength of Secret Blood, he could heal, but as long as he took on just one hit, the fragile body of the Gravekeeper would die.

Lorenzo didn’t know what would happen to his ghostly state after being killed, but he at least had to obtain more intelligence before that, intelligence on the new Pope’s Authority.

The mortal body advanced instead of retreating, in this fatal sword strike, Lorenzo suddenly thrust forward, the Nail Sword in hand stabbing straight. This move was so familiar in the new Pope’s eyes, a sword skill every Demon Hunter knew.

If he didn’t react, this strike would bypass his defenses, directly hitting his chest, in mortal warfare, this blow could directly take the life of the enemy, but he was not a mere mortal. Inside him surged Secret Blood.

The new Pope had no intention to dodge, the Nail Sword slashed down, directly cutting open most of the Gravekeeper’s body, slicing off the entire arm along his shoulder, blood dyed his robe red, scattered on those pure white flowers, scarlet decorated everything.

The intense pain directly transmitted into Lorenzo’s consciousness, he felt everything with this body. However, being born as a Demon Hunter, Lorenzo’s tolerance to pain far exceeded that of ordinary people. Even so, it did not change the direction of his blade.

The Nail Sword stabbed straight towards the new Pope, this time like a child’s powerless swing, even if it hit it wouldn’t cause any harm, and the falling blade had already lifted again, the Nail Sword igniting a scorching curtain of fire, sweeping up those flying petals, turning them to gray ashes as they fell.

This time it was a diagonal slash, from top to bottom, this would decapitate the Gravekeeper, or even split him in half along his neck.

But Lorenzo didn’t care, a slight smile appearing on his somewhat stiff face.

He was already close enough.

The control of consciousness over the body suddenly weakened, synchronization began to lose rate, like a running machine, each unit going offline in succession. Lorenzo lost control over the body, but at the same time, an eerie phantom reminiscent of an ascending soul emerged from the flesh.

The new Pope could see it, the twisted, indistinguishable ghostlike figure, although blurry, he could see it, like that indescribable Evil Anomaly from a black fairy tale.

Lorenzo was calm, yet it was said he had gone mad long ago, only that he had been mad for so long, he instead seemed like a normal person.

This journey back home had given him too many surprises, so many that he couldn’t process, and there was no time to consider the consequences, so he made a crazy decision.

Why not attempt to invade the new Pope’s body?

The illusory ghost broke free from the confines of flesh, at such a close distance, the new Pope had nowhere to hide, Lorenzo was about to succeed, his hand gently touching his body, then easily passing through.

Lorenzo had succeeded?

No time to think, the new Pope’s body oddly dissipated in the air, like an illusory setting sun, melting wax, accompanied by rising petals, blurring in vision.

”Got you...”

A cold voice rang out.

Lorenzo swiftly turned his head, his sight met that steel mask, within that deep darkness, the blazing flames seemed to penetrate the dimensional restraints, scorching his soul hotly, amidst endless pain, Lorenzo saw something in that white glow.

In an instant, it seemed he lost all strength, Lorenzo’s gaze became somewhat dazed, and at this moment, the new Pope slowly extended his hand, knowing he couldn’t touch Lorenzo, as will could not be killed by ordinary iron, but it could be replaced by a better will.

A chaotic, twisted Hell unfolded before Lorenzo’s eyes, a maddening Illusion Realm torturing the lost soul.