Gun of Ashes

And the so-called Silencer is the sealed [Holy Grail], the blood of the Holy Grail and the flesh of the Holy Grail, all originate from the strange existence of the Silencers.

Lorenzo hesitated to continue speaking, as the memory of that battle evoked deep fear. But now, upon careful reflection, all of it was Lorenzo de’ Medici’s conspiracy. He was originally prepared to confront the Silencers in that dry well, for which he gathered the Shangdafeng Demon Hunters and intentionally told himself about the [Boundary], thereby attracting the arrival of those Silencers.

Only then could he fill the entire dry well with that precious blood of the Holy Grail, completing the sacred ascension.

But in the end, that old man still died, like some predetermined dark fate. The Silencers would stop at nothing to kill him, even though he had made so many preparations, struggling against it with all his might.

Then... what about himself?

Lorenzo slowly lowered his head, his pale face reflected in the pool of water.

Memories are infallible. I am 042, I have always existed, but... but... why do they all call me 047?

Looking at that familiar face, Lorenzo couldn’t help laughing, but the laughter was tinged with an unspeakable fear and sadness. He seemed to know why all this was happening, but he didn’t dare to think about it further, choosing instead to deliberately forget, afraid to face it.

”Lorenzo!”

Watching the detective who was weeping and laughing at the same time, Merlin suddenly shouted.

”Get a grip! Lorenzo, listen to me carefully!”

Seeing Lorenzo come to his senses, Merlin didn’t care what he was about to say, and instead prepared to share his previous research findings with him.

”Merlin... right, what’s going on?”

At this point, Lorenzo recalled the eerie current situation and also sensed the overwhelming encroachment surrounding him, as if he were on a demon’s battlefield.

”Don’t worry about that now, listen to me carefully.”

Merlin interrupted Lorenzo once more, forcing him to look at him. Beneath that vacant gaze, Lorenzo for the first time felt a slight emotional expression in this bizarre body, extreme excitement mixed with... fear.

”Do you remember that demon that could generate heat?”

As if afraid Lorenzo might forget, he added, ”The one that lost control within the Perpetual Motion Pump, the high temperature nearly destroyed everything in its path.”

Hearing this, Lorenzo remembered that demon, that peculiar demon.

If Lorenzo’s memory was correct, that demon was originally a person named Horner before transforming. He partook in the attack on the Salicardo banquet, subdued by Arthur. The Perpetual Motion Pump intended to study him, but during the research, due to some unknown reason, demonization suddenly intensified, subsequently turning him into that blazing evil ghost.

”Horner...”

Lorenzo whispered this name, which he had almost forgotten, suddenly recalling that eerie [Gap].

If there was a turning point in Lorenzo’s mental state, besides the death and resurrection inside the Black Angel, the moment of killing Horner was also a very important node.

Lorenzo still remembered everything, during the final fight with that blazing evil ghost, Lorenzo seemed to step into Horner’s [Gap], and killed him there, mentally, and then that blazing evil ghost just died, without shattering its heart, or even severing its head, just died like that.

After that, Lorenzo’s consciousness fell into a coma, and Horner’s memories flashed back and forth in his mind, though Lorenzo eventually managed to forget about it during the following times, only remembering when it was brought up.

”What’s wrong?”

Lorenzo asked, puzzled as to why Merlin brought up an event that had occurred so long ago.

Merlin’s voice was filled with excitement, yet his face remained deadened and calm.

”Don’t you think many characteristics of that demon are... similar?”

”Similar to what?”

”Authority: Michael.”

The blazing white flame instantly burst forth in Lorenzo’s mind, amid the extreme heat and wave of surging warmth, he seemed to see that face again, Ed raising the Blazing Flame Sword filled with anger, launching the final attack against Lorenzo.

Not giving Lorenzo time to think, Merlin continued, propelled by unprecedented urgency, the rational Alchemist now exhibiting a glimpse of madness.

”Lorenzo, I’ve always had a strange sense of fear, as if I’ve been researching something dreadful. To avoid implicating others, I’ve been researching it secretly for a long time.

Your Demon Hunters, after demonization, acquire authority, right, transforming into a monster with authority. But Horner was different, he was just an ordinary person originally, transformed into a demon due to unstable Secret Blood. You could say he underwent no guidance by the Alchemy Matrix, nor endured stable Secret Blood Implantation, yet his final loss of control was extraordinarily similar to Authority: Michael.”

Merlin continued to speak, eager to lay bare the secrets hidden in his heart, as if he might die the next second, taking the secrets with him to the grave.

”I suddenly recall what you previously told me, according to Revelation, the authority of Demon Hunters is obtained through guided Secret Blood by the Alchemy Matrix, thus gaining that extraordinary authority. Single authority brings erosion during guidance, while simultaneous guidance of multiple authorities causes the target to mutate into a demon.