Gun of Ashes

In the largest and most closely guarded experimental site within the Perpetual Motion Pump, inside a gigantic cage known as the Workshop.

Lorenzo and Merlin were now inside, but their thoughts had never lingered here. The roaring of machines was incessant, protective armor tightened and reinforced layer by layer, elevators rose and fell, indicating they were more than prepared for the experiment.

Everyone was excited, even though Merlin was the only alchemist among them, the other researchers’ desire to explore knowledge was no less than Merlin’s. They were striving to explore the frontiers of human cognition, pushing the understanding of the world from simple cold iron to complex and efficient machinery.

Yet at this moment, the two harbored feelings completely different from the others—fear, awe, and confusion.

Merlin seemed to have lost his spirit. Sitting on the shoulder of the Black Angel, his gaze was vacant and dazed, yet his thoughts were swiftly racing, trying to piece together broken clues, attempting to restore the shattered mirror.

After a long time, even the others didn’t quite understand what Merlin was doing. After all, he should have been presiding over the start of the experiment, not sitting on the shoulder of the Black Angel, as if whispering some conspiracy with Lorenzo.

He thought of something, Merlin whispered close to the face armor, experiencing a brief terror before contemplating even more horrifying matters.

”Lorenzo, there’s another question.”

He spoke softly, fearing that this terrifying secret might be overheard.

”In the cognition of you demon hunters, would demons naturally die like humans?”

”Naturally... die?”

At this moment, the pressure inside Lorenzo was not much less than Merlin’s. He had thought he understood the Evangelical Church well enough, but now it seemed that this long-standing enormous organization, even in its declining old age, concealed secrets far beyond everyone’s imagination.

”Yes, natural death. Even without disease or external influences, as humans age, their organs inevitably weaken and age, like gears rusting slowly to a halt until the machine stops and cannot restart.”

Merlin had a terrible suspicion and couldn’t help but ask.

”You demon hunters, because you bear the Secret Blood, that powerful Forbidden Blood strengthens your bodies. Due to that odd power, your physical constitution greatly surpasses ordinary people, approaching that of demons, giving you their formidable vitality. You usually live long, postponing organ failure significantly.”

”But here’s the issue, despite battling demons for so long, we seem never to have discovered any demon that died of natural causes...

Or rather, demons do die naturally, but due to our mutual slaughter, it’s rarely observed... So, regarding this Static Holy Temple.”

Merlin couldn’t help but look at the gap on the face armor, where intricate patterns vaguely appeared on the armor.

”Lorenzo, have you ever thought about how long this ’Static Holy Temple’ has existed? Years? Decades? Or centuries?

What are demons, truly?”

...

Gray-white steam seeped from the armor’s crevices, iron feathers drooped to the ground, like countless suspended sword blades. The Black Angel knelt like a stone sculpture, the enclosing iron armor cracked open, exposing Lorenzo underneath, where a viscous blood-like fluid was dripping.

He took a sip of water, then lit a cigarette, looking up at the bright dome above, lost in thought, as electrodes on his back intertwined with flesh, connecting deep within the armor. Lorenzo’s connection with the Black Angel was not yet severed; this was merely an interlude in the experiment.

Staff were bustling around, casting astonished looks at Lorenzo. They had never imagined anyone could dominate such a monstrous armor, let alone with such stability. The soft green light exuded a peaceful air. Normally, prolonged operation of the armor would immediately cause symptoms, yet Lorenzo seemed unfazed, as if he was born for this.

No one could answer Merlin’s final question. Lorenzo couldn’t either, not knowing there were still more unsolved mysteries in this world, untapped Truths yet to be discovered.

He casually glanced around, the brief exposure to these secrets left him with an unusual fatigue. If he could, Lorenzo would prefer to take a good sleep. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been inside here, perhaps a whole day had passed.

The staff couldn’t fathom Lorenzo’s thoughts; they were merely performing their duties, maneuvering the cables and fuel into the body of the Black Angel.

From the initial startup, Merlin didn’t have optimistic expectations for the experiment’s outcome. For safety reasons, the Black Angel was activated at its lowest threshold, and now, for the sake of the experiment, he needed to ensure it had some operational capability.

Even though that’s the case, Merlin hadn’t dismantled the crimson restraint device. Lorenzo was performing well, but Merlin still sensed an underlying risk.

”Lorenzo, regarding these matters, I will thoroughly review those alchemy notes.”

Merlin’s voice came through a nearby communicator, but Lorenzo did not look at it. His gaze was fixed on the high elevation platform where Merlin was preparing for the follow-up experiments.

”Do you think there will be clues there?”

”Certainly, demons possess prolonged lifespans, or rather, their flesh and blood have strong vitality. If our speculation is correct, this should be documented in some notes, as this attribute is strikingly similar to that of the Philosopher’s Stone, which is said to grant immortality.”