Gun of Ashes

Amid the intense pain in his mind, the dust-covered doors of the Memory Palace flickered before Lorenzo’s eyes. In a daze, Lorenzo heard the sound of stone grinding, with ancient dust falling and dazzling light shining behind the cracks.

It was almost there; Lorenzo reached out his hand, nearly touching the opened doors. But in an instant, everything calmed down again, sweat trickling down his cheeks as he sat in the chair, gripping the armrests tightly.

The machine continued to roar nearby, but judging from the constantly flashing red light and the incessant beeping of the Geiger Counter in his ears, the results of this test seemed rather ominous.

”Truly fascinating. According to the test results, you’ve already reached the third stage of erosion, the irreversible third stage. By this logic, you should have turned into a Demon by now,” Abigail said.

The medical staff removed the electrodes from the back of Lorenzo’s head and treated his wounds with disinfectant.

”What exactly are you Demon Hunters? You are such peculiar beings. Sometimes, I have a strange notion.”

Abigail observed Lorenzo intently. To him, this man appeared sectioned into countless chunks of flesh, his gaze seemingly penetrating the skin to see the organs hidden behind the bones.

”Care to elaborate?”

Lorenzo asked. He remained cautious of it all but also believed these people might actually help him find answers.

”You’re no longer human—more precisely, an existence superior to humans—or rather... evolution.”

”Evolution?”

”Yes, that thought came from one of our enemies, who is known as the Plague Doctor. His exact name is unclear; his whereabouts are mysterious, but every appearance he makes is accompanied by massive casualties, and those people are basically used as his experimental subjects... It seems he is also researching Demons.

The Purification Mechanism almost captured him once but still let him escape. However, we found some of his experimental notes, and this theory came from those notes.”

Abigail recalled those details and then spoke to Lorenzo.

”He believes Demons are a form of evolution. They are so powerful, superior creatures to humans, and inevitably the next step in human evolution.”

”Losing reasoning? Evolving into monsters?” Lorenzo found it hard to believe.

”Who knows? Even now, we still don’t understand the full picture of Demons, right? Who can guarantee that such bizarre creatures truly lack reason? Or perhaps Demons do have reason, and we just haven’t discovered it yet.”

Listening to Abigail’s words, Watson’s face suddenly flashed in Lorenzo’s mind.

”Rational... Demons.”

”Moreover, Mr. Lorenzo Holmes, in what form does the Pseudo Holy Grail exist in you?” Abigail asked again.

”Come, try to think. Scientific research involves both thinking and action. Please consider carefully, in what form does that unknown Pseudo Holy Grail exist in your body?”

”Form of existence—you think the Pseudo Holy Grail could be what?” Lorenzo asked.

”That depends on you. Clearly, your body doesn’t have any ’extra’ components.” Abigail circled around Lorenzo, scrutinizing him.

”Is the Pseudo Holy Grail an object? Or a kind of Alchemy Matrix? Or maybe something even more special?”

”It... could be a concept—some meme pollution, but as long as I don’t spread it, it’ll remain trapped in my consciousness...”

Lorenzo tried to ponder those things, but it was an empty void, and he forgot.

”So, the Pseudo Holy Grail doesn’t have a specific material form, right? Let’s hypothesize, view it as some sort of ethereal existence, an unseen and untouchable thing,” Abigail said, ”yet it remains by your side, closely following...”

”Like a Ghost...”

Lorenzo said inadvertently, then lifted his head, surprise flickering in his eyes.

”Perhaps this is another way Demons exist—a Ghost... or call it a Spirit Body.”

”A Spirit Body bearing will...”

Lorenzo repeated, sensing something, yet unable to grasp it, as too much information surged through his mind, threatening to tear it apart.

Like a cognitive hazard, he realized too much too quickly, his will unable to sustain.

But... but what kind of information was this anyway? Just a fresh perspective on Demons.

”Spirit Body?”

Abigail said somewhat uncertainly.

”Spirit Body, spirit, will—these things all seem to represent the same thing in the end.”

As a rational Scholar, she never believed in Ghost Gods or the like, but in contemplating the form of the Pseudo Holy Grail’s existence, she seemed to have realized something.

”Perhaps... humans really do possess souls, maybe like Ghosts attached to the flesh shell.”

...

”Arthur, you need to come here.”

Someone knocked on the door, a woman’s voice—it sounded like Blue Jade, who is currently Arthur’s assistant, responsible for assisting Arthur.

”Give me a moment.”

Arthur heard Blue Jade’s voice and prepared to leave. But before exiting, he glanced at Owes, who asked him.

”I’m fine, it’s very safe here, at least for now,” Owes said.

Arthur still felt a bit uneasy. Although the research area was heavily guarded, they were dealing with demons, and anything could happen.

”Okay, wait for me.”

Arthur said as he tucked a handgun into the crevice of the wheelchair, then pushed open the door and left.

Through the gap of the closing door, Blue Jade outside saw Owes inside the room, looking like a glass doll sitting in a wheelchair.

”Who is he?” Blue Jade asked curiously.

Blue Jade was aware of the information lockdown inside the Purification Mechanism. What she shouldn’t know, she wouldn’t be told, but she was still curious as to why this poor-looking child was here.

This was the research area of Black Mountain Hospital, and very few patients who came here ever left alive. Most of them were knights from the Purification Mechanism, only sent here when the corruption was irreversible, making their last contribution to the study of demons. Knights saw this place as a graveyard.

Joey had the fortune of coming here once. After experiencing hellish treatment, he left, but returned here many years later. Blue Jade was very curious about what had happened to this boy that brought him here.

Moreover, although it was just a glance, Blue Jade faintly felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen this boy before.

”You are not authorized to know that right now, Blue Jade,” Arthur said. ”Now, tell me what happened.”

”You’ll know when you see her,” Blue Jade said.

”Hmm... alright, I think I can guess.”

Arthur sighed helplessly and rubbed his temples forcefully. This busy feeling was really uncomfortable.

...

”We caught her at the elevator on the ground, she seemed to be trying to sneak into the research area,” Blue Jade told Arthur.

According to the rules of the Purification Mechanism, someone doing such a thing would surely face some punishment, but unfortunately, the girl locked in the room was Eve Phoenix.

Although she appeared calm on the surface, Arthur knew what his daughter was like. She must be thinking of some strange strategy at the moment.

This girl was born with a certain wildness. Arthur tried his best to tame it through education, but with encounters with demons, that wildness could not be suppressed.

”You violated our agreement, Eve. I told you to stop investigating these, or I’d let you become some detective,” Arthur said.

”Running into demons isn’t something I can control, and isn’t it because of your orders that I’m locked up here?”

Eve did not feel she had done anything wrong. In fact, in her eyes, she wasn’t wrong. She just wanted to know the secrets Arthur was hiding.

With the forbidden fruit that humans devoured, they were endowed with an insatiable desire, akin to a stubborn curiosity.

During her days at Black Mountain Hospital, Eve felt she was getting closer to something - an indescribable feeling. Under this strange and ominous hospital, Eve vaguely felt she had been here before, and her eerie dreams became more frequent.

In those blurred images, there was a woman wailing and crying in pain, and when the pain reached its peak, sharp claws pierced through her abdomen, blood splattered everywhere.

Eve felt uneasy but also inexplicably elated, as if she was on the verge of finding all the answers.

”Your observation period has a few days left. After it ends, you can leave,” Arthur said. ”Then I’ll take you away from here.”

”To where?” Eve felt something was off.

”A place without demons, probably.”

Arthur didn’t want to say anything more. A series of demonic events had made their already unfriendly father-daughter relationship worse. He stood up and signaled the doctors to take Eve back.

The girl’s expression changed. She knew exactly what Arthur intended to do, to send her off to some god-forsaken island, learn some unlucky etiquette, marry a man she didn’t know, and eventually have a few children with Phoenix blood, living her life under someone’s control... though he thought it was for her own good.

”You bastard!”

She angrily tried to hit Arthur but was stopped by Blue Jade in time.

As the iron door was closed, sealing off the girl’s curses, Arthur’s eyes were filled with exhaustion. He lowered his head slightly but soon the gray robe came into view.

The Alchemist looked at the weary Arthur, and his stiff face pulled into a semblance of a smile.

”These are the files you need, the final records of the Ranger project.”

”Honestly, if I could, I’d rather not see these anymore.”

Arthur took the files, casually drew a few pages, and familiar information appeared before his eyes.

He was considered the last product of the Ranger project, witnessing it from inception to being locked away in the archives. Arthur was one of the few who knew this thing best, and now, to solve the King’s Curse, it had been reopened.

Looking at the somewhat yellowed pages, there was a line of familiar names.

”I thought she would lead an ordinary life.”

He murmured softly that name, familiar and warm.

”Eve Phoenix.”