Gun of Ashes

Someone’s coming.

They looked towards the other end of the corridor, but nothing was there. As he watched, the hurried footsteps vanished, and before they could relax, the next moment a screech filled the air.

It all happened almost in an instant; after the footsteps disappeared, the wailing of the dead sounded. The man could only see a white light twisted and tugged, then his entire head was violently split open, sticky blood and fragments of bone raining down on the people beside him.

The swift sword light hadn’t stopped. It was so sharp that almost nothing could impede its cut.

In the darkness, it wove a trajectory of death, and all material along this path was brutally torn apart, narrow fissures appearing on the walls, the man’s body sliced into pieces.

The wails didn’t even have time to escape. The sword light pierced through his throat again, silencing the impending scream. Even in this moment before death, the man looked in the direction of the sword’s path and finally saw the attacker.

A pair of eyes blazing fiercely, incredibly scorching.

This gaze was so familiar that under the mask of that noble person, the man had seen the same fire.

”Dean...”

He uttered a whimpering sound. He couldn’t understand what was happening, clutching the Nail Sword tightly, blood flowing endlessly.

”Dean?”

A doubtful voice emerged from the darkness. The Nail Sword swung fiercely, severing fingers along with the neck. The headless body paused for a moment, then knelt down as if a devout worshiper, kneeling before the darkness.

”Who are you? The Choir?”

Lorenzo stepped out of the darkness, his body already stained with fresh blood, dripping.

No one answered him. This bloodthirsty and brutal scene had completely stunned everyone present, but what followed was a painful growl. The Secret Blood was activated inside, non-human power granted to their bodies.

”So it’s true...”

Lorenzo didn’t seem surprised at all by the scene before him.

In the narrow corridor, a violent erosion surged. They were very confident that, after receiving God’s blessing, this power made them invincible in battle.

Previous fierce battles had already proven this point. They had won in the past, and they would win now.

Yes, victory, defeating enemy after enemy, bathed in the radiance of God...

A slight pain interrupted his thoughts. The man lowered his head, and while he was still pondering that glorified light, Lorenzo had already passed him, the enormous wound splitting open on his chest as the sound of footsteps faded away.

The wound was so deep that the bone was visible, and it pierced through his heart with one blow. He panicked, reaching out to try to stop the wound on his chest, but the blood wouldn’t stop seeping from between his fingers. Soon after, his vision tilted, he heard the sound of heavy objects falling, the things in front of him rolling around, he saw a headless corpse that had died and Lorenzo approaching others.

He died, another headless corpse.

It’s not that Lorenzo was a pervert, but he respected everything the old Order had taught him. When dealing with anything related to Demons, Lorenzo would adhere to these two principles.

Crush the heart, sever the head.

”So you are the Choir, right?”

Lorenzo asked again, his face expressionless, like a Death God walking out of the shadows.

At this moment, they were completely stunned. Under Lorenzo’s absolute force, they realized for the first time their insignificance, even after receiving God’s blessing.

”De...demon!”

Someone shouted in despair. Mortals could not resist Divine Power, only the Demon from the darkness could do so.

”Demon!”

He continued shouting, pulling out a gun and shooting at Lorenzo.

The Nail Sword swung, its surface bursting with dazzling sparks. Lorenzo quickly reached in front of him.

Under the Secret Blood’s enhancement, the man’s face was ferocious, but when looking at Lorenzo, he did nothing for a moment. He raised his hand, trembling, but couldn’t pull the trigger.

In a short time, Lorenzo had completely implanted fear into everyone’s minds. This wasn’t erosion, but the most primal fear originating from biological instinct.

Fear of the unknown.

”Fire! Attack?”

Lorenzo asked, but the man didn’t reply. He stared at Lorenzo, the Secret Blood had given him power far beyond the norm, but facing Lorenzo, his body seemed empty.

”You have strength but lack the heart to wield it.”

Lorenzo disappointedly swung the Nail Sword, cutting into the neck, splitting the chest, and cruelly killed the man before him.

”I thought the Choir would be a troublesome group, but you’re not even as good as the new Order.”

He looked again at the remaining people, each of them sharing the same expression as the man who had just died.

Fear and despair.

Perhaps the threat of death finally enraged them. The remaining people were not willing to wait for death and charged towards Lorenzo, but it was all futile.

They lacked the heart to fight against despair. Everything they did now was merely a survival instinct.

This was a one-sided slaughter.

Lorenzo originally came to test the Choir’s strength, but now it seemed these guys were nothing but useless waste. They weren’t even as good as the new Order. At least those people had the courage to entrust everything to the darkness, willing to transform into Demons.

In the end, only one survivor was left.

Lorenzo easily killed all the others, delivering a fatal blow. To prevent further trouble, Lorenzo made sure to finish off every person, severing their heads and completely eliminating the possibility of Demonization.

This place was simply a slaughterhouse, the ground covered with broken limbs.

But unexpectedly, there were other bodies here, a woman’s body. It seemed he hadn’t been discovered, these people had come to kill this woman, but he just happened to run into them.

”What a coincidence!”

Lorenzo suddenly revealed a smile, crouching down, looking at the only remaining person.

The man was completely terrified, crying and curled up in the corner.

”I ask, you answer, understand?”

Lorenzo said as he placed the Nail Sword against the man’s neck. Made from sturdy Pine Iron, despite all the slaughter, the Nail Sword remained intact.

The man nodded vigorously, completely swallowed by fear, like a puppet, easily manipulated by Lorenzo.

”Are you from the Choir?”

”Yes... yes.”

Lorenzo pondered for a moment, then asked.

”Who is the Dean?”

During his attack, the man had uttered this term before dying, and Lorenzo couldn’t understand why he said it. Was he suddenly reminded of someone?

Someone called the Dean, and since Lorenzo could evoke his memory, he must have something in common with that Dean.

For example... the unextinguishable flame in his eyes.

”The Dean is...” The man was just about to speak when Lorenzo interrupted him.

”So, you know this person, right?”

The man didn’t understand why Lorenzo said that, but he nodded, indicating affirmation.

”Then there’s no need to complicate things.”

Lorenzo said as he reached out, grabbing the man’s head, forcing him to look at him.

It was like a strange ceremony. The tattoo on Lorenzo’s back seemed to move with life, wriggling slowly.

It elevated the blood inside the body, allowing Lorenzo to grasp the Authority named Medanzo, but some powers didn’t act upon blood, but something deeper.

The soul.

Watson had explained it that way at the time, that Lorenzo’s soul had been [Ascended], so this power was no longer bound by the body.

”Instead of you talking endlessly, how about I see for myself?”

Lorenzo spoke words the man couldn’t understand, a more intense flame rising in his gray-blue eyes. The man tried to close his eyes, but Lorenzo held his head firmly, forcing his eyelids open, making him stare at the blazing sun.

Authority · Gabriel.