Gun of Ashes

Chapter 519: Chapter 109 Demonization

The battle was on the verge of breaking out. This time, it was a frontal assault. White-hot flames ignited in Lorenzo’s eyes, followed by dense armor covering his body. His speed was so fast that it caused a howling sound indoors.

The Demon Hunters were taken aback, not expecting Lorenzo to also be a Demon Hunter. Before they could react, Lorenzo charged at them with a Nail Sword and Folding Blade, like thunder in broad daylight.

It was a heavy strike. The dense armor was Lorenzo’s most formidable defense, allowing him to attack fearlessly with such power, without worrying about the enemy’s blades.

The clash happened in an instant. At the moment of contact, an instantaneous explosion erupted. Lorenzo threw a weapon like a Flying Knife, where the flint sparks ignited the thick, black liquid inside.

The Lacquered Antimony burned fiercely, and in a moment, the rising flames sucked all the oxygen out of the room. First came the unbearable feeling of suffocation, followed by an extreme temperature and explosive impact.

Glass shattered from the surging airwaves like thousands of blades falling, wooden furniture caught fire, turning to charcoal. The three at the center of the explosion were directly blown away, heavily crashing to the ground. The impact continued to spread, even knocking Shermans, running away, to the ground, as if a heavy stone pressed upon him.

A few seconds later, the wind brought cold rain into the room. Lorenzo struggled to stand up amidst the lingering smoke of the explosion. Even though he was at the core area of the explosion and had armor protection, he was still in a sorry state, with multiple injuries and armor full of cracks.

He panted anxiously, never expecting such immense power from the Lacquered Antimony.

After pondering deeply for a night, Lorenzo finally figured out how to use this bizarre substance. Making bullets was definitely not feasible. Once fired, it would explode in his hands like an armored arquebus; it’s better to make a throwable, like a Flying Knife.

However, the only thing to note is that the throwing distance must exceed the killing radius of this thing, otherwise, the result is what it is now.

Even though he was affected by the explosion, with the armor, Lorenzo was merely looking a bit disheveled. Looking ahead, the two Demon Hunters were already on the ground. Without any protection, they were blasted to a pulp at such a close range.

One Demon Hunter managed to react, drawing a Nail Sword in front of himself, but this act only dragged him into death’s embrace. The Nail Sword shattered under the explosion, broken blades piercing his body, blood flowing uncontrollably.

Lorenzo didn’t hesitate. Holding his Nail Sword, he leaped forward, utilizing this surprise attack to continue expanding his advantage.

The disturbing power surged. The Demon Hunters let the surge of Secret Blood take over. In such situations, it’s either you or me. In just a few breaths, one Demon Hunter was already able to move with effort. Truly worthy of being a Demon Hunter, with vitality terrifyingly strong.

He gripped the Nail Sword, swinging it towards Lorenzo, half of his body blasted to a bloody pulp, Lorenzo could even see the stark white bones within.

Lorenzo was faster. The Nail Sword pierced his heart, then twisted forcefully, thoroughly shredding the heart.

”You don’t want to become a demon, right?”

Lorenzo whispered, but as he spoke, his hands never stopped. He was unaware of the Demon Hunters’ Authorities and had to kill them before they activated them.

The Demon Hunter’s strike also fell at that moment, slashing against the armor. Severely injured, he didn’t have much strength left to break Lorenzo’s armor, and just then, another sword light fell. In such a short time, another Demon Hunter had regained mobility, attacking Lorenzo.

Lorenzo had always prided himself on his strength as a Demon Hunter, but now he faced opponents who were also Demon Hunters, several of them. Though he had the upper hand, he couldn’t help but find it troublesome.

But the sense of unrest rose rapidly. Lorenzo had no time to pay attention to the falling blade, staring in horror at the Demon Hunter before him. On the burnt, blurry face, flesh began to wriggle violently. Lorenzo tried turning the embedded blade but found it stuck, unable to move.

The flesh rapidly proliferated, like extending red threads, tangling and locking the blade. The Secret Blood surged madly, in an instant, blinding flames rose in the eyes.

”Demonization...”

Lorenzo cursed silently, swinging the blade with force, raising howling winds, abandoning all defense, allowing another blade to pierce his body.

On a religious level, the Silver Binding Bolt was more like a door to darkness, securely closed. Only under dire circumstances would it permit a Demon Hunter to step in, even stepping in comes with heavy costs.

Though it was a method for the Evangelical Church to control Demon Hunters, Lorenzo could understand. When a Demon Hunter loses rationality, this sword that once defended sanity becomes a claw of madness. But now this door was so casually left open, allowing these new Order Demon Hunters to step in at will.

This is also why Lorenzo finds it tricky; they have no limits. Once Lorenzo cannot incapacitate or kill them in an instant, as the battle progresses, they become increasingly terrifying, even transforming into demons.

Lorenzo could do the same, continuously elevating the Secret Blood until breaking the demonization threshold, but he would be punished by the Silver Binding Bolt within him, which would only accelerate his death.

The sharp sword fell heavily, cutting into flesh, the Nail Sword slicing into the demon hunter’s neck. However, due to the surge of Secret Blood, his physique had grown several times stronger. What flowed from the wound were not flesh and blood, but countless red threads, pulling at the flesh, halting the sword’s advance.

Under the blessing of Secret Blood, the demon hunter began to counterattack, punching Lorenzo fiercely. The powerful blow shattered the armor, and then broke the Nail Sword lodged in the neck. At Lorenzo’s back, another demon hunter also stabbed his sword down. Realizing he couldn’t breach Lorenzo’s armor, he drove the sharp blade along its gaps, the sword tip emerging from Lorenzo’s shoulder.

”That’s why I hate this...”

The situation had reversed; Lorenzo was now at a disadvantage. But he didn’t care, just kept glaring at the demon hunter before him.

His body showed obvious demonization; fragments embedded during the explosion were being extruded by the proliferating flesh, and he emitted meaningless growls, like a beast.

”So easily stepping into madness, so reliant on madness...”

Lorenzo looked at him with pity. Demonization was a forbidden door, and these hunters of the New Order didn’t understand at all. They were born on the remains of the Old Order; their existence wasn’t to defend a rational world but merely a tool for the new Pope.

A more massive power surged from within. Lorenzo discarded the broken sword hilt, grabbing the severed blade lodged in his neck. As he tightened his grip, blood seeped through his palm’s crevices.

The colossal force drove the blade, a chilling sound echoing slowly. Lorenzo ignored their attacks, letting the armor continuously shatter. He stubbornly gripped the blade, pushing it forward.

It was the sound of threads snapping, one after another. Countless red threads were severed, cut one by one by the Nail Sword, like slicing through indomitable steel. All muscles tensed, and in this slashing, the sword penetrating the shoulder was directly twisted off, the tip remaining inside Lorenzo.

Amidst the God-shaking roar, all red threads, flesh, and even bones were severed.

Severing the connection between brain and body, the will could no longer control the turbulent Secret Blood.

The demon hunter died, eyes full of disbelief even though Fr. Anthony had told him before that the demon hunters of the Old Order were different from them, but he never imagined the gap would be so large.

”You rely too much on demonization.”

Lorenzo whispered, humanity’s greatest strength is that rational will, while demonization utterly devours it.

Quickly turning around, still holding the broken blade, he reverse stabbed into another demon hunter’s heart. Fear filled his eyes; in his training, he had never faced someone like Lorenzo. Actually, Lorenzo’s body was also covered in injuries, but it was as if a fury sustained him.

The demon hunter was pinned to the wall by the impaling blade. Next, a shotgun was pressed against his chest, firing. Shot after shot pierced the flesh, leaving him half-dead. He was like a punctured blood bag, large swathes of blood pouring out.

His eyes still carried anger, but upon seeing Lorenzo’s icy gaze, the demon hunter’s heart plummeted into the Ice Sea. He was too slow, too reliant on so-called demonization. Secret Blood is a sharp sword, and as it ascends, it becomes sharper, capable of cutting through anything, but ultimately it’s just a tool, and what truly determines it is the person wielding it.

The demon hunter and Lorenzo both had Secret Blood running through them, but Lorenzo was far stronger. Over the lengthy timespan, he had learned how to utilize the minimum Secret Blood for maximum efficiency in combat.

”You don’t even count as demon hunters; just lucky wretches surviving the corrosion of Secret Blood.”

Lorenzo said, severing his head, and the demonization came to an abrupt halt.

The headless body fell powerlessly, like a statue, blood painting the wall.

They did have a chance, but it was to find Lorenzo’s weakness in battle, or to coordinate swiftly. Yet faced with crisis, they simply abandoned thinking, handing choices over to the devil within. The surging Secret Blood, it was a powerful force, but this was the wrong way to use it.

Lorenzo didn’t even glance at the corpses, running towards the direction Shermans fled. During this time, Lorenzo himself didn’t notice that his own strength and recuperative power far exceeded his former self; this was the power gained at rebirth, the power of the Holy Grail.