Gun of Ashes

Red Falcon nodded, now he somewhat understood Arthur. This is such a damnable time, a moment when soldiers and demons fight to the death, yet a father-daughter reunion is playing out. If this were any play, it would be absolutely dreadful.

A father cannot watch his child die, and the child cannot see their father in helplessness.

”Damn demons...”

Red Falcon cursed under his breath, walking toward where Owes was. Red Falcon’s gaze was always on him, but he didn’t ask anything, directly passing by Owes as he approached the stretcher.

The doctor was still trying to wake the patient. During evacuation, this patient reacted most intensely, so the doctor had increased the dosage of the injection significantly. He was in a deep sleep.

”Excuse me.”

Although his words were polite, perhaps due to oppressive erosion, Red Falcon impatiently pushed the doctor aside, grabbing a Florun Potion and stabbing it into the patient’s neck.

”Wake up, Joey!”

It was like being punched in a beautiful dream. Joey, strapped to the stretcher, did a flip, his wide eyes filled with alarm.

...

The silence was long and somewhat unbearable. Arthur lowered his head, seemingly looking at a blueprint, but Eve knew very well he was pondering matters unknown to her. They stayed in this quiet companionship until one would break the peace.

”Sorry.”

Arthur finally could not bear the prolonged silence. He slowly sat upright, his muddied eyes bloodshot. He was already quite an old fellow, but in this short time, he undoubtedly aged significantly.

”Ah… Troubles come one after another, dealing with the treacherous new Order, guarding against Lawrence’s remnants, sometimes even having to appease Her Majesty the Queen.”

Arthur muttered to himself, rubbing his temples vigorously, but no matter how hard he rubbed, he couldn’t erase the pain in his mind.

”Apologies, Eve. After all, you were dragged into this. I’ve tried my best to avoid it, but like a curse, no matter how hard I try, in the end, it is all in vain. What is destined to happen will happen, and mortals can change nothing.”

Arthur sighed, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.

The silent Eve was slightly moved at this moment, not because of Arthur’s words. She had heard them many times before, and she had grown accustomed to them.

But Arthur rarely smoked. In Eve’s memory, it seemed he only smoked quietly by a tombstone when her mother passed away, and now this seemed to repeat itself.

”When she died, I was pretty much like this, sitting in a corner, quietly smoking, and now it’s somewhat similar...”

Arthur recalled that time too. On that occasion, his wife died, and this time perhaps his daughter might.

”I...” Eve wanted to say something but was interrupted by him.

”This is alone time now. I am not Arthur, but your father. Such... teaching? I suppose. Opportunities like this are rare.”

Duke Phoenix looked at Eve, took a deep breath, and the cigarette butt flared up a fiery light, but the light was too brief, burning for nearly a moment before dying out again.

”Once you make it out alive, stay far away from Old Dunling, as far as possible. I’ve already planned your future, it’s in the drawer of my desk. Follow what I say, and you will safely live out your life. As for whom to marry... Ah, so troublesome, that part I leave up to you. But I’ll try my best to survive, because you’re too unreliable on your own.”

Duke Phoenix rambled on, a rough plan gradually took shape in his mind.

Eve rarely did not argue against him about anything. Typically, as soon as Duke Phoenix mentioned anything about the future, Eve would loudly interrupt him, reducing their father-daughter relationship to icy terms.

This does not mean she agreed with Duke Phoenix’s arrangements. She simply couldn’t bear to watch this old man exhaust himself any further.

All the survivors in the research area, their lives depend on his decisions. It’s a heavy burden to bear, and Eve felt suffocated merely at the thought.

”Alright, I apologize for my words just now. I know you dislike my planning for your life. It’s just... only this way do you have a chance to survive, far away from the demons, living like an ordinary person. You’ve witnessed the hell here, haven’t you? This is the true depiction of ordinary people battling against demons.”

He tightly covered his head, like an ordinary person. That face always maintaining rational composure now written all over with fear.

”I… I don’t want you to be suddenly killed by demons someday, with your corpse eaten into a mess, and intestines and bones scattered all over. Sometimes I have such nightmares.”

The voice turned into a fragmented murmur. At this moment, Duke Phoenix was the one in the most unstable mental state. He was the one in power, the decider, shouldering the lives of many, stepping on countless corpses.

”Eve!”

Duke Phoenix suddenly shouted, his grim face directing fiercely at Eve.

”Haven’t you always wanted to know about all your peculiarities?”

Eve stiffened, it was the answer she had always sought, just not expecting to learn it in this situation, stiffly nodding her head, Duke Phoenix continued to speak.

”Go find Merlin... you probably don’t know him, but that’s alright. Go find him, Merlin knows the full story of the events back then. He will tell you everything.”