Gun of Ashes

The old man’s death once again appeared before his eyes. Even though he calculated so much, he still couldn’t escape his destined fate. Under that ominous solitary light, he shattered and decomposed.

”But you know, life is never short of unforeseen events. Have you ever thought about it, my friend? Like getting hit by a carriage on your way to work, and thus bidding farewell to this beautiful world.”

”But one can’t live in constant fear every day. We need to minimize the risks of these accidents as much as possible, like walking on the sidewalk obediently, or paying attention to your surroundings when crossing the road.”

Lorenzo rambled on. Sometimes he was like that, always suddenly speaking about inexplicable things.

”But some accidents are unavoidable, like demons. These things don’t make sense; they’re like a twisted embodiment of the world’s evil, suddenly inserted into it. You can avoid being hit by a carriage, but you’ll invariably and inexplicably encounter these damned things.”

Lorenzo spoke, increasingly enraged.

”De... demons?”

The voice on the channel sounded a bit surprised, seemingly not expecting Lorenzo to know of their existence.

”Hmm? You know about them?”

Lorenzo was also somewhat surprised. He was ready to face all this alone, but never thought the channel would connect at the last moment, nor did he expect the stranger to also know about the demons.

”Who exactly are you?”

The voice questioned again.

”The great Lorenzo Holmes!”

Lorenzo repeated, this time leaving the voice stunned.

”Wait a minute...”

At that moment, the name started to sound familiar to him, and he immediately said,

”Wait for me!”

Noisy sounds came from the other side of the channel, as if the guy was flusteredly doing something.

Lorenzo was not in a hurry. Half the cigarette was left, and there was still some drink in the glass, giving him time to chat with the stranger.

”I confess, there’s a hole in my chest, a consequence of my past actions and this gun in my hand...”

He continued to hum, his cold song resonating in the silent channel.

At some point, Lorenzo had already put down the glass, picking up the Nail Sword and Armor-Piercing Hammer, along with a shotgun filled with ammunition.

”Lorenzo Holmes!”

A sudden shout echoed in the channel.

”Broken Dome calling Reichenbach. This is Knight Commander Gareth of the Purification Mechanism!”

”Broken Dome?”

Lorenzo was taken aback, and then his gaze turned to the porthole. Although the storm hindered visibility, the tall Dunling Tower still stood in view, like a beacon in the night, clearly visible at the moment.

So, the Dunling Tower is the Broken Dome?

As a detective, Lorenzo could be said to be quick-witted, but he soon had a new thought: if he piloted the airship and crashed it, would that count as directly destroying the command center of the Purification Mechanism?

But there was no time for idle thoughts. The voice in the channel rang out again, questioning him.

”What are you doing, Lorenzo?”

”I’m running away, Gareth!”

Lorenzo said, picking up a nearby map with several rough markings on it.

This was arranged with Oscar. Nordro would assist Lorenzo in escaping Old Dunling.

”What?”

Gareth was momentarily confused. He thought Lorenzo would say something else, but didn’t expect it to be about escape, spoken so openly.

”Escape! Escape this city, escape all of you. I’ve found a place; they say in the Viking countries, you can see the beautiful auroras. I’ve worked for so long, is there a problem with going on a trip?”

Lorenzo’s finger traced a corner of the map where a red cross was marked.

Gareth was momentarily speechless. He considered Lorenzo might mention some strange plan or tactic, but never thought this was what he contemplated.

Listening to the silence on the other end, Lorenzo suddenly felt a bit bored. Though they hadn’t met, from these few words, that guy named Gareth must be a dull person.

”Alright then, it may sound unbelievable, but I’m trying to save this city, Knight Commander Gareth.”

Lorenzo responded as he inserted various weapons into his pockets.

He no longer wished to tease this infuriated Knight Commander, even imagining the guy banging on the table.

”So hijacking the airship is your way of saving?”

Gareth roared, as the stationing Knight Commander at the Broken Dome, he was now overwhelmed and conflicted; hours ago, Black Mountain Hospital lost contact, a horrific corruption outbreak occurred, and a disaster protocol was initiated, prompting the Cleaners to advance.

In this storm, Old Dunling was experiencing an unprecedented secret war, and after the disaster protocol was activated, as Knight Commander, he could do nothing but await the Cleaners’ messages.

”Lorenzo Holmes, you are now a target of the New Order. You should immediately retreat to a safe spot, and piloting the airship in this circumstance, are you mad?”

”I know, I know. Do you think I hadn’t thought of this myself? I’m not stupid.”

Lorenzo took the Nail Sword and forcefully stabbed it into a lever’s gap, twisting it till it broke and remained fully retracted - full power. Judging from the map, it wouldn’t be long before the airship flew out of Old Dunling.

”I’m aware I’m the New Order’s target, so those guys will definitely come for me, and our personal vendetta isn’t something your Purification Mechanism can handle.”

Lorenzo revealed everything he had just done to Gareth.

”I’ve been waiting for a long time in the terminal before taking off. If the New Order’s Demon Hunters were quick enough, they should have already infiltrated the airship, meaning I’m now enclosed with those guys.”

”You... what do you intend to do?”

Gareth was a bit unclear as to what Lorenzo intended. In fact, ever since the airship took off, he was bombarded with constant puzzles. No one understood why Lorenzo had appeared there, how he could pilot an airship, let alone how he knew there was an airship there in the first place, as if all of this had been planned long ago.

”This also benefits your Purification Mechanism. The demon surge in Black Mountain Hospital is terrifying enough. If you wage war with the New Order there, I’m unsure if the battlefield can remain contained within Black Mountain Hospital, given Old Dunling’s dense population, you wouldn’t want the flames of war to spread to the downtown area, right?”

”Lorenzo! Calm down; you are now the New Order’s target; if you once...”

Gareth tried to say something to dissuade him, but Lorenzo ignored him, continuing,

”This time it’s different. On this airship, they have no escape route. They can’t threaten me with innocent lives as before, nor can they hide casually in a building; here is a dead end, they have nowhere to run.

They either kill me and stop the airship, or I kill them all and stop the airship... actually, the result is the same, right?”

His words were casual, but upon hearing the nonchalant voice, the other end of the channel fell silent. Lorenzo, however, was in no rush and asked amidst the silence.

”Anything else you’d like to say, Gareth? Reichenbach is about to leave Old Dunling’s signal range.”

”We... we’ll have a better solution.”

”That’s your solution, not mine.”

”What solution do you want?”

Lorenzo didn’t answer immediately, but shadows flickered through his mind, and finally, he gripped the Nail Sword tightly.

”Demons killed my friends, so I want to eradicate all demons. And the New Order harmed my roommate and arrogantly belittled me.”

Recalling Moriarty’s features, Lorenzo surprisingly felt no anger, only joy, eagerly anticipating that guy’s fearful face.

”Blood for blood; is that so hard to comprehend, Knight Commander?”

Reichenbach left Old Dunling’s signal range, the static noise gradually quieting. Lorenzo kicked open the cabin door, having turned off all lights on the airship beforehand, stepping into the dark void beyond.