Gun of Ashes

The same story takes on different forms in the mouths of different people.

Everyone thought the former Pope was dead... or rather, according to the story told by the new Pope, he was dead, but in reality, he wasn’t. Instead, he was secretly imprisoned by the new Pope in this filthy, forgotten location. No one would know he’s here, and even if someone did, they couldn’t save him.

Because this place is not a realm mortals can reach; it is Hell existing within the world of mortals.

The refining of Secret Blood is based on demons, the powerful blood Ascension, while the useless flesh is cast into the Well of Ascension. Countless demon corpses are stockpiled here; some aren’t even dead yet, feeding on the bodies thrown in alongside them. This has been going on for nearly a millennium.

As a result, this place has accumulated too much madness and eeriness. As the depth of the well descends, the intensity of the corruption rises correspondingly. Only a Demon Hunter can retain their sanity and reach the deepest ends of this well; mortals would succumb to madness during their descent.

The new Pope is very pleased with his methods; it’s a perfect prison to punish those he despises.

Hundreds of meters below the earth, the air is filled with the stench of blood, surrounded by an impenetrable darkness. Here lies the ”filth” accumulated by the Evangelical Church over nearly a thousand years. The former Pope has survived in such darkness to this day, enduring unimaginable madness during the sleepless nights.

”I don’t know...”

The former Pope muttered repetitively as if he were a fool, the dry words escaping his withered throat, but it wasn’t a satisfactory answer.

The new Pope’s hideous face was impossible to read for any expression. He looked down at the bewildered former Pope and slowly released him.

”Why? Why do you refuse to say anything?”

He asked, puzzled and confused.

”You know, if you had spoken then, you might be lying on some luxurious soft bed now, holding a woman and drinking fine wine... I promised you; as long as you revealed everything, I would ensure you live the rest of your life in peace.”

His voice became angry. The Nail Sword was drawn and pierced repeatedly, running through the former Pope’s body again and again. Though the ragged body was repeatedly shredded, leaving gaping, horrific wounds, no blood flowed out, and the damaged body healed in a very short time.

The former Pope seemed numb to the pain, feeling nothing, only repeating, ”I don’t know.”

The new Pope’s cruel atrocities soon ended. He knew that for the former Pope, this kind of pain no longer mattered. But upon reflection, the new Pope had no new ways to torment him.

The former Pope had also once been a noble Believer. He too loathed the power of the Secret Blood. Yet the irony was that he needed it. Thus, the new Pope endowed him with this demonic power as well, injecting him with the Secret Blood, watching him suffer, then casting him into this hell.

The Celestial Kingdom’s Believer now covered in filth, their wings became heavy, unable to flap, like stones.

”Kill me!”

The former Pope suddenly showed a crazed expression, his emotional state drastically unstable. In the endless, torturous darkness, he had long since descended into madness.

His stiff arms feebly clutched at the new Pope’s robe; the former Pope even began to wail, begging for death to come. For him, death was the only release now, causing his once proud head to lower, repeatedly striking the ground.

”I beg you, kill me.”

He pleaded, but the new Pope had no intention of doing so, only coldly observing this ridiculous scene.

”How could you? Why wish to die? Your Excellency, is this not what you’ve always desired?”

The new Pope knelt down, gently lifting that despised head with gentle eyes.

But those were not calming eyes. To the former Pope, they were the eyes of the Devil, filled with mockery and scorn.

”Your Excellency, since becoming Pope, I’ve started reading the Gospel. I never cared about it before, thinking it was just the drivel of fanatics. But now I see that it is where the Truth lies.”

The murderous aura had disappeared, like a casual conversation among friends. Yet the more casual it was, the more terrifying it became.

”Indeed, demons grow in the shadow of God; actually, they coexist symbiotically. Surely it is precisely because of the detestable demons that God’s greatness is highlighted, isn’t it? But equally, isn’t it because of God that demons exist?”

The new Pope said, lightly stroking that skeletal face, minute flames rising from his fingertips, leaving tear-like burn scars on the former Pope’s already scar-ravaged face.

”We have already captured the root of demons, the so-called ’Holy Grail.’ As long as it’s destroyed, all of this will end. But why? Why did you allow their struggle, and why, in the end, did you also join?”

His voice grew angrier. The former Pope let out a mournful cry. In the searing pain, his fingers slowly sank under his skull, leaving a bloody indent.

”Yes, demons grow in the shadow of God. It’s no surprise that the center of belief, the sacred core of the Church, is controlled by desire, right?”

It is precisely because of these so-called Saints that we end up in the current situation.