Gun of Ashes

This was a terrible meeting, even a bit sad. In Arthur’s understanding, this old friend in front of him had died the moment he entered Black Mountain Hospital over a decade ago. Although his body still existed, and he retained some childish rationality, Arthur knew very clearly at that time.

Cole was already dead, Mordred was dead too. At this moment, the body hid nothing but a rationality corroded and eroded to a great extent, a muddled soul. The doctors only refrained from performing euthanasia on him out of some ethical reasons, after all, his research value had been completely extracted.

Arthur could never have imagined that, after so many years, Cole could actually converse with him rationally, it was simply incredible.

”It feels nice to be able to think again.”

Cole rubbed his head. With rationality restored, memories from all these years flooded his mind. Scenes unbearable to look at, even that insane shouting just now, flashed before his eyes. He smiled occasionally but soon felt sadness.

”No, how is this possible, your rationality clearly already...”

Arthur couldn’t believe it. According to the tests back then, Cole had been corroded to the late stage of the second phase. Although he wouldn’t further deepen into demon metamorphosis, his rationality was thoroughly shattered by corrosion. Yet now, Cole was speaking to him as if normal.

”Perhaps it is because of my specialization as a Ranger, but anything related to demons is shrouded in mystery, who truly knows?”

Cole muttered to himself.

”You might not believe it, Arthur, but in the years I’ve lost my rationality, it seems I’ve been having an incredibly long dream.

It was indeed a good dream...”

Cole spoke, lowering his head a bit dazedly. Staring at his reflection in the accumulating water, his pupils slightly contracted. The youthful face in his memories overlapped with his current aged appearance, causing an involuntary sense of horror.

In the final memory, he was considered a young man. Yet upon waking again, he had turned into a coarse old man, as if someone had stolen his precious years while he slept.

But this confusion and sadness didn’t last long. To Cole’s own understanding, he was still a young guy, merely with his mind trapped in this aged body.

Everything appeared so disjointed, making his thoughts incomparably chaotic.

”The Armor of Original Sin... looks like you succeeded.”

Cole raised his head, gazing at the shadow of dark blue entangled with demons. Over a decade ago, these things only existed on blueprints, and the Purification Mechanism’s main force was still this group of Rangers.

”Yes, not only that, our understanding of demons has deepened... we’ve glimpsed hope in eradicating demons. Although this hope remains dim, it’s much better than in previous times.”

Arthur replied, hoping this news could make Cole feel better.

Fire rain continuously fell, no one knew how long the Cleaners would continue to baptize this land. The demon corpses burned with intense fire as they fell, and the soldiers tried their best to squeeze their bodies into the shadows of the shelters. In truth, these shelters currently couldn’t withstand a direct hit from the fire rain, they could only pray the wrath of God’s flame wouldn’t fall upon them.

Cole’s heart surged; there was no need to ask to know the current situation. His emotions became exceedingly complex, ultimately ending with a helpless sigh.

Back then, he was corroded and tainted because of the demon attack. The last memory was lying on the operating table, hearing the whispers of the doctors. And when he regained his rationality and woke up again, he faced a battlefield full of demons, like two nightmares connected, spanning across the years.

After brief sorrow, Cole’s gaze became stern once again. Although his exterior was aged, his heart remained young; he was still on the battlefield.

”Merlin? I remember he and I were sent to Black Mountain Hospital together, is he still alive?”

”Merlin? He’s already left... no, he didn’t. He’s also in the hospital, but he’s no longer Merlin. William has a successor.”

So many years have passed, and those people Cole was familiar with either died or retired, leaving the records in the Purification Mechanism. Arthur for a moment thought he was referring to the current Merlin, but he quickly caught on.

”He’s alive?” Cole became anxious.

”Yes, but like you, he’s also been eroded. Now he bites at whatever he sees.”

Speaking of which is quite laughable, but thinking of William as he was, Arthur couldn’t help but feel sad.

”Where is he?”

”What are you going to do?” Arthur asked.

”Intelligence! At that time, we were cooperating with William during the experiment. I don’t know what happened, but in the middle of the experiment, the demons erupted within the Perpetual Motion Pump. I don’t know why, but William said he found the [Truth]... and then you know everything else, the Perpetual Motion Pump was severely damaged, but fortunately, the disaster didn’t spread.”

Cole said, moving even as his body began to distort, he still to execute that unbroken duty.

Over a decade ago, the Perpetual Motion Pump suffered a major disaster. The former Merlin, namely William, was conducting some experiment when the demons invaded. All the data was destroyed in the invasion, and the parties involved, like Cole and William, were deeply corroded and became madmen.