Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo could sense the man’s emotions; he was both terrified and delighted.

The man seemed to be a soldier, and many other soldiers stood with him inside the church, the statue at the front covered by a curtain, beneath which stood the Plague Doctor demonstrating.

”Of course, to be precise, this is a degraded form of Secret Blood, but compared to previous works, it is already quite stable, greatly reducing the risk of you being transformed into Demons, but don’t rejoice too soon; the risk is only smaller, it still exists.”

The Plague Doctor continued explaining about this newly manufactured potion, while a volunteer was brought to the front.

”Should I say that my predecessors greatly influenced me, or something else? All along, I wanted to recreate the Secret Blood of the Demon Hunting Order, to create warriors as powerful as the Demon Hunters, but then I suddenly realized something.”

The Plague Doctor seemed to be explaining, but also as if explaining something to someone.

”I suddenly understood, that such elite troops like Demon Hunters are indeed powerful, but they are not suitable for us. What we need is a strong army, which could consist of several dozen Demon Hunters, but also hundreds or thousands of cheap soldiers who are stronger than ordinary humans.”

As the Plague Doctor spoke, he injected the Secret Blood into the volunteer’s body, and soon the Forbidden Power began to take effect within him, his breathing became rapid in an instant, he appeared to be in pain, his skin turned red and hot, veins bulged, his body arched, like a beast.

”Ultimately, it’s the nation that dominates the war, the thousands of soldiers thrown onto the battlefield, the cannons and warships, not each Demon Hunter. They might alter the battle locally, but as a whole?”

The Plague Doctor’s words grew increasingly mad.

”We don’t need to be stronger than the Demon Hunters; we just need to be stronger than ordinary people.”

The volunteer beside slowly recovered, gradually standing up, and a fierce beast-like rage could be distinctly felt in his aura now.

”Yes, that’s right; hundreds and thousands of soldiers far stronger than ordinary people, they might not yet be stable, but even when out of control, they will still become excellent weapons continuing the slaughter, and no one can stop the advance of this army.”

The Plague Doctor looked towards the other soldiers inside the church.

”This time, you will become the first in glory, the vanguard of God.”

The soldiers were silent, unclear whether they were fanatics or something else; everyone harbored a bit of fear, but beneath the fear was a kind of madness and joy.

They were about to sacrifice for God.

Lorenzo could feel this emotion, even as if he stood right there in the church, listening to the Plague Doctor’s madness, sacrificing for God.

Power so easily leads people astray.

”However, before that, you need to undergo a test from God.”

The Plague Doctor said as he stepped aside, and only then did Lorenzo notice someone sitting in the front row, to whom all of the Plague Doctor’s previous words were addressed.

That person wore a crimson clerical robe, symbolizing a Cardinal.

Miguel?

Lorenzo wondered, but the person was turned away from him, so he couldn’t see his face.

The person walked beneath the statue and pulled down the curtain.

Lorenzo felt it.

He felt the man’s dread and ecstasy at that moment, and he also felt his own emotions, fear, and anger.

Beneath the curtain was not a statue, but an Angel, an Angel nailed to a cross.

The body was lifelike; the eyes were shut as if merely asleep, without any sexual characteristics, arms stretched apart, fitting the wings that had grown from the back, which were then pierced with long nails, nailing it to the cross.

Everyone was captivated by the Angel, and as they gazed, vivid hallucinations appeared before them: some began to weep, confessing their sins, some knelt with expressions of devotion, and some slowly moved towards the Angel.

This was an incredibly sacred scene, yet Lorenzo, witnessing all of this through fragmented memories, felt a chill.

This was no Angel, definitely the most evil presence in this world.

The Silencer.

This unknown being was so terrifying that even the remnant shell had such magic power; even though Lorenzo saw it indirectly through memory fragments, he was still affected.

The scene before him began to distort slowly, and it was at this time that a voice spoke.

”Those who survive under God’s gaze are the chosen Believers, you will join this sacred army, completing the unfinished Crusade.”

It was that man in red, he slowly turned his head, gazing at everyone.

It was a mask, a cold, pitch-black mask, like an unknown abyss, devouring all light.

”I will be your commander.”

He said.

”You may call me... Dean.”

Beneath the pitch-black mask, there was a flame burning bright, pure white, like the blazing noon sun.

The memory was shattered.

In the void world, the fragments around Lorenzo gradually lost their glow, having already turned to embers when he destroyed the Gap, forcibly plundering all of this, and now the last glow extinguished, plunging this void world into darkness.

Lorenzo opened his eyes, finding himself back in reality, facing the man he had invaded, who now lay in a pool of blood like a corpse.

His body was alive, but his soul had been utterly crushed.

Lorenzo froze in place, his body seemingly losing all temperature, unbearably cold, as he slowly raised his hand, his palm covered in cold sweat.

He had a very bad suspicion, no, it was beyond bad description anymore.

Was he still alive?

This couldn’t be.

Yes, he never found his body...

But... absolutely impossible, such wounds would be utterly fatal, unless...

Lorenzo’s gaze tightened as moonlight streamed through the window onto the pool of blood, revealing his blurred reflection in the blood.

Unless a miracle had occurred.

His own survival was a miracle, so what about him?

Lorenzo dared not think further, the Secret Blood army, the not-deadly enemy.

His thoughts were completely stalled; he didn’t notice the fast-approaching footsteps as someone dashed out from the darkness, the moonlight illuminating the knife and gun in their hands.

Lorenzo hadn’t killed all the enemies; one had stayed behind in the rear, swearing to avenge his teammates, and gunfire erupted.

The enemy from the shadows fell, collapsing in front of Lorenzo, splattering blood onto his face, which carried a slight warmth amidst the bloody smell, slowly waking him.

Lorenzo took a deep breath; the massive amount of information nearly overwhelmed him; before he could pick up the Nail Sword to arm himself, a corpse moved within the pile of bodies.

Warningly, Lorenzo grabbed the Nail Sword, seeing something rising slowly from the shadows within it; she pushed aside the bodies pressing on her, staggering to her feet.

Holding a pistol, she apparently was the one who fired earlier.

The moonlight also illuminated her appearance, a gunshot wound in her right chest, blood slowly oozing from it, but there was no fear of death on the woman’s face; she looked so composed, as if it were just a game.

”Very nice to see you again, Mr. Lorenzo Holmes.”

The woman’s voice was clear, and she extended her bloodstained hand right after, a sharp fragrance cutting through the heavy stench of blood.

”Erin Adler.”

Lorenzo caught that familiar scent.

Erin showed a smile, but before she could continue speaking, the view fell into darkness, and she collapsed into the pool of blood, excessive blood loss sending her into unconsciousness.