Gun of Ashes

Joey growled, his trembling hand picked up the Florun Potion beside him, and injected it into his body once more. As the potion was fully infused, his constantly shaking body finally began to stabilize, breathing heavily as if he had just endured a great battle.

”No... not these...”

Joey tried hard not to think about those things, those past memories that had long gone by. He began to search through everything he had encountered, trying as a skilled Upper-Rank Knight to identify when exactly he had been afflicted by erosion.

Countless images overlapped and scattered back and forth, finally revealing that ghastly white Order building in the pouring rain.

”James... James Moriarty.”

Joey uttered that name, that unfamiliar name.

”The Red Falcon, there’s a problem with that doctor.”

Joey grabbed Red Falcon by the collar, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

”That doctor!”

”Who?”

Joey’s reaction was somewhat too intense, pulling on Red Falcon’s collar. He wanted to calm his colleague down, but for a moment he found himself unable to control Joey, as if that nightmare returned again, Joey kept growling.

”Him! That doctor!”

That bizarre White Church and that strange Mutual Aid Association—all seemed so grotesquely absurd when recalled at this moment.

”He’s... he’s from Black Mountain Hospital... he has a problem...”

Joey mumbled repeatedly, intense pain tormenting his mind, until in the end, like an incessant dream-talk, Joey murmured these words, collapsed from exhaustion, and fell into a coma.

...

”Lorenzo Holmes has disappeared.”

In the warm room, Samuel reported the news to the man behind the desk.

The Demon Hunters who arrived in Old Dunling this time weren’t just those led openly by Anthony; secretly, another group of Demon Hunters had arrived in Old Dunling before them, operating in the shadows.

”The dark chess pieces we embedded searched his residence and places he might appear, but they found no trace of him,” Samuel said.

”Has he been protected by the Purification Mechanism?”

Anthony, going through the documents on the desk in front of him, replied without lifting his head.

”Not sure, we currently don’t have the capability to infiltrate the Purification Mechanism’s inner workings... However, it’s also possible that he slipped away. Old Dunling’s transportation is well-developed, with railways covering the entire territory of Ingwig.”

”You mean escaped?” Anthony shook his head, ”I don’t believe that Mr. Lorenzo Holmes would run away.”

He recalled the fury of Lorenzo in the conference room; at that time, Lorenzo’s anger indeed intimidated him, even perhaps intimidated everyone. Even if Lorenzo had burst out suddenly then and waged war against everyone, Anthony wouldn’t be surprised. Yet after Lorenzo left, he realized all of it was a facade.

That was Lorenzo’s disguise, his bluff. He’s a Demon Hunter with burning furiousness, even when severely injured, he would pretend to be tough.

”As for the Purification Mechanism, actually, we’ve already made an impact. That conversation must have made Mr. Holmes realize that an enormous organization like the Purification Mechanism is not reliable, at least such a colossal entity won’t halt for one person’s will.

I think he might be hiding now, just lurking in some corner of Old Dunling, quietly watching us, ready to leap out and tear our throats at any moment.”

Samuel expressed some worry, ”Do we need to deploy those dark chess pieces to hunt him down?”

”No need, they should be saved for the endgame. Moving now would only alert the enemy.”

Anthony flatly denied this.

”We need Lorenzo Holmes alive... His value is far more than what appears on the surface.”

Samuel didn’t understand these things, in fact, he had never quite made sense of what Anthony was intending to do... or rather, what the new Pope was planning. Anthony is the new Pope’s most trusted blade, it could be said that everything Anthony was doing now was the will of the new Pope.

”Aren’t we supposed to be looking for the ’Revelation’?” Samuel asked.

”But we have no leads, do we? The information exchange with the Purification Mechanism reveals Lawrence is already dead, killed by Mr. Holmes, and this Dean Lawrence had single-handedly triggered the Night of the Holy Arrival. No one knows how long he schemed, let alone that he held the ’Revelation’ for such a long time.

That book contains too much forbidden knowledge, even knowledge that the Evangelical Church has chosen to forget... Yet such a terrifying person is dead, killed by Mr. Holmes.”

Anthony spoke while looking up, slight worry in his eyes.

”The Purification Mechanism didn’t tell us the specifics of the battlefield back then, but it’s clear that under current circumstances, Mr. Holmes absolutely had no chance of defeating Lawrence, but the fact is Lawrence is dead, and he survived unscathed.

Perhaps... it’s the power of the Pseudo Holy Grail.”

Samuel was startled, he hadn’t considered this; no one knows the abilities of the Pseudo Holy Grail, not even its appearance is known.

”Lawrence was the only clue to finding the ’Revelation,’ but now he’s dead, yet inferior Secret Blood continues to appear in endless streams... It seems someone else has joined the game, replacing Lawrence.”

Anthony paused after saying this.

”Let’s not speak of these for now, Samuel, the current situation is quite complex, even I am unsure of what to do next... at least until the Pope’s instructions are clear, we’d better maintain the status quo.”

”However... how are those dark chess pieces doing?”

Upon hearing Anthony’s question, Samuel hurriedly replied.

”Currently they have successfully integrated into Old Dunling, with him being the most outstanding, even infiltrating into Black Mountain Hospital.”

Anthony evidently knew who Samuel was referring to, showing no surprise at this.

”His Authority is very suitable for infiltration.”

Recalling something, Anthony couldn’t help but laugh.

That Authority was all too familiar to Anthony; back then, the new Pope had used it to purge the entire Seven Hills, and yet those people never understood why it happened even until death.

”But he... he is not very controllable.”

Samuel voiced his concerns.

”His previous actions...”

”As long as the value exceeds the risk, it’s fine, just like how the Purification Mechanism views Mr. Holmes,”

Anthony seemed well prepared, replying confidently.

With his head down, he looked at the documents spread out on the desk that he had been flipping through for a long time. Anthony remained silent for a while, but then he smiled once more.

”Samuel, take those Demon Hunters out for a stroll.”

”A stroll?”

Samuel was a bit puzzled; when coming to Old Dunling, he had been prepared for the possibility of dying in a foreign land, but upon arrival, there were no blades or swords, only war with words, a dance of intricate moves between two massive groups. If possible, no one wants to see any blood spilled.

”This is Old Dunling, our enemy’s stronghold, the frontier of the world. It’s always good to see more.”

”But... it feels like entertainment before death,” Samuel couldn’t help but say.

”Perhaps, given that we might all die soon... Mr. Lorenzo Holmes is truly riddled with mysteries, so much so that even he himself might not realize it.”

Anthony said while picking up that file, which had no elaborate writing, only a few scribbled lines, and several black-and-white photos clipped above.

This document came from the Seven Hills, secretly sent to Anthony a few days after he arrived in Old Dunling. The photos contained images of several half-burned documents, though it’s difficult to discern the details from the black-and-white photos, one of them appears to be a list.

The writing on another photo is slightly clearer, Anthony can see its several stamps, along with the blurred text.

”Project: ’Sword Scabbard Treaty,’ Executor: Lorenzo de’ Medici...”

Anthony’s brows knitted tightly together, a problem far beyond the current situation’s controllability emerged.