Gun of Ashes

”But I don’t know how to fly that thing,” Lorenzo said.

”I remember you learn things fast, right?” Oscar said, handing over a manual. ”It’s an aviation manual. You have plenty of time to learn a bit before we reach the dock.”

”Of course, the great Holmes was nothing more than an exceptional trickster rather than a genius scholar. Learning this in such a short time would still be too much.

Oscar said as he opened the aviation manual, glanced at it, and then casually tore out a few pages to give to Lorenzo, tossing the remainder out the car window, to be swept away by the wind.

”Just learn this according to your needs.”

”What exactly should I learn?”

”Starting up and moving forward... Those two operations should be enough to get you out of Old Dunling, right?” Oscar smirked. ”However, if you want to completely disappear from the Purification Mechanism’s eyes, it’s necessary to find a place with the sea and jump in, the airship will continue forward, attracting their attention.”

Lorenzo took the few crumpled pages. After a brief silence, he asked, curious.

”What exactly do you want, Oscar? Why go to so much trouble to help me, and what price do I have to pay?”

”There’s a lot of reasons, a weird teacher-student bond? Or birds of a feather? Maybe I find you impressive? Who knows? But I do have some personal motives,” Oscar replied.

”Is it because of Queen Victoria?”

Lorenzo recalled Arthur’s whispered words to him back in the birdcage.

”The King’s Curse...”

Hearing this term, Oscar’s eyes showed some surprise.

”The King’s Curse... You actually know about that stuff.”

”Sounds like something unlucky.”

”More or less.”

”So that’s why Nordro has no influence within Ingwig? You’re wary of Queen Victoria, and she is terrified of your uncontrollable group.”

At this moment, Lorenzo once again felt the complexity of this world, realizing there were more players at the table than he had known, and their allegiances were not as he had imagined.

”That’s something inevitable. If you were Queen Victoria, would you allow such an uncontrollable colossal force to keep growing? But she can’t do anything either; as long as the King’s Curse exists, the Victoria Royal Family is trapped in the exquisite Platinum Palace.

If it weren’t for Nordro, Ingwig’s power couldn’t spread beyond its territories due to the King’s Curse. But now that we exist... They need Nordro’s power, yet they won’t let it slip out of their control.”

Oscar smiled slightly, his voice not overtly mocking, just deeply helpless.

”I wouldn’t call it treason. After all, I only serve my Ideal Country. As for these present matters, it’s merely cooperation with her.”

”You need the Victoria Royal Family, but you don’t want her to lift the so-called King’s Curse, is that right?” Lorenzo asked.

”Pretty much. We in Nordro just want to maintain the status quo. But the queen doesn’t think that way; she probably wants to find a way to break free of the King’s Curse from you.”

”So you want me to escape from here, cutting off her purpose,” Lorenzo said.

This was the real reason Oscar helped Lorenzo so generously; it wasn’t about the nonsense he spouted before.

”But... what if one day I choose to assist the Victoria Royal Family? Oscar, would we become enemies then?” Lorenzo asked.

There are no absolutely united factions, only overlapping interests. When interests diverge, that’s when enemies are made.

”I’m not sure. After all, we’re not under monarchical dictatorship; one person’s words don’t count. But there’s no need to think so far ahead now, Lorenzo. Let’s handle current affairs first.”

Oscar gazed out the window as he spoke. The sky was a dreadful spectacle, bringing Old Dunling to a standstill under severe weather. The car journey had been rocky from the start.

”If you advance by Iron Serpent, you might be intercepted en route. What will you do? Fight your way through?”

”Suits me just fine.”

Lorenzo said nothing else, arming himself with the shotgun and Nail Sword.

Heavy rain pounded the car as if the entire world were submerged, with the Thames River brimming over the banks, puddles on the streets nearly ankle-deep.

Through the thunder and lightning, shadowy figures crashed through the gale, the roar of rainfall and thunder perfectly masking their movements. The Iron Serpent roared on, and they lightly landed on the rooftop unnoticed.

Amidst the downpour, the city was paralyzed, with only the speeding Iron Serpent, while the Demon Hunters beneath their hoods kept their eyes on the drenched steel.

To avoid alerting their target, they didn’t activate Secret Blood, waiting instead to unleash their power to the limit at the moment of a killing strike on the passengers within.

Oscar had anticipated this, but even he didn’t expect the Demon Hunters to arrive so swiftly, before any decisive actions could be made.

A few exchanged glances, ready for the next move. In an instant, Secret Blood surged, flames erupted, and without hesitation, the Demon Hunters pierced through the roof with sharpened Nail Swords. At the same time, one attacked from the side, slicing open the carriage.

This was an ambush, foreseen yet unavoidable, the entire car door shredded open. The Demon Hunters, gripping their Nail Swords, fixed themselves at the edge of the carriage, preparing to storm in when they realized the inside was empty.

This speeding Iron Serpent was vacant, but just then, because the Nail Sword had severed the wires inside the carriage, the mechanism tripped, and before thought could even form, the entire Iron Serpent exploded in an instant.

It was a gift Lorenzo meticulously prepared for the new Order. In this severe weather, mercury vapor would be scattered, the poison quickly washed away, prompting him to have Oscar mix in as much explosive as possible, along with metal fragments. At the moment of explosion, this was a deadly lotus flower.

Scorching heat and blasts paired with shards blown by the impact dealt severe damage to nearby Demon Hunters. Those with lesser Secret Blood awakening were ripped apart by the fierce explosion.

Blood and debris washed away by the rain, the burning Iron Serpent continued forward. Watching the raging flames through the window, Lorenzo knew it was time to leave.

”They really fell for it.” Oscar remarked, between watching the blaze, with a hint of surprise.

”Of course, in weather like this, carriages would be blown over, with only the Iron Serpent left for fast transit.”

Lorenzo hung his case on himself, opening the car door to let the wind and rain flood in.

This was a speedy carriage, reinforced and pulled by extra horses to withstand the harsh weather, allowing Lorenzo to keep pace with the Iron Serpent without being blown away.

”So you planned all this from the start?”

”Just adapting to circumstances. And you should leave too, Oscar; I can handle the rest alone.”

Lorenzo leaned on the car’s edge, raising the Hook Gun.

The downpour masked not only the Demon Hunters’ movements but also Lorenzo’s. They didn’t suspect he was never on the Iron Serpent, just lingering on the edge, waiting.

”Well... okay, I’m too old for such thrilling action anymore. But, Lorenzo, there’s actually another reason why I helped you.”

”What?”

”Remember those knight novels? ’Demon Hunting and Monster Slaying Chronicles’!”

Oscar shouted, loud enough to be heard over the thunder.

”Huh?”

Lorenzo looked surprised, sensing something off.

”That’s right, I wrote it. Though only Volume One is published, it sells well. People seem to enjoy such curious stuff.

So, Lorenzo, don’t go dying now. If you die, I can’t gather material, because I’m not a Demon Hunter, right?”

Oscar said at last, not waiting for Lorenzo’s reply, unsure if Lorenzo even heard. Lorenzo fired the Hook Gun, latching onto the burning Iron Serpent, and in a gust leaped out, his eyes shining with bright white brilliance. It was unclear if it was the blaze igniting, or the reflection of the thundering sky.

The sound of a blade unsheathing came through the wind, followed by blood spilling into the rain.