Gun of Ashes

”Sleep?”

Red Falcon also cast a questioning glance.

”What else?” Lorenzo countered, ”We’re now above the White Tide Strait, trapped on this cruise ship, this is an isolated island. No matter what plans or strategies we have, we need to land to implement them, don’t we?”

”Not to mention...”

Lorenzo’s words suddenly stopped; after pausing for a moment, he continued.

”Not to mention, my ’lead’ is still unconscious. Whether it’s interrogation or anything else, we need to wait for her to wake up first.”

This could be considered an unexpected surprise. Lorenzo inexplicably captured the key character of this mission.

”I can’t sleep; I’ll keep watch around here.”

Hebdo shook his head, picked up his weapon, and walked out.

”What about you?”

Lorenzo looked at Red Falcon, who hesitated a bit before replying.

”I’ll watch her. Who knows, the enemy might still be on the ship waiting for a chance to kill her.”

Lorenzo turned his head and looked the other way.

”I... if you all are staying awake, I’d feel bad... Maybe I’ll go check on Heracles?”

Eve thought for a moment and randomly picked a task for herself.

”No need, Heracles isn’t that fragile.”

Lorenzo said, seeming to have another plan in mind for Eve.

He handed the Nail Sword and Winchester to Eve. Upon receiving Lorenzo’s weapon, Eve felt some pressure. By rights, Lorenzo never parts from these items.

”Don’t let anyone in.”

Lorenzo entered his room, his intentions unknowable.

”And no matter what you sense outside the door, don’t open it to disturb me.”

His expression was serious, making Eve involuntarily tense.

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

”To meet a friend.”

Lorenzo thought it over and decided to be honest.

The room was empty with only Lorenzo inside; beyond the window was the vast ocean. Eve couldn’t fathom what Lorenzo meant, and he didn’t give her time to ask, closing the door tightly behind him.

The room suddenly fell into silence, only broken occasionally by Erin’s painful groans. Her forehead was hot; her brows were furrowed as if she were having a nightmare.

Red Falcon sat silently in the corner, hugging a weapon. Hebdo’s footsteps sounded from outside the door.

No one could have anticipated how quickly the atmosphere would shift. Eve only now vaguely realized that the joyful journey seemed to have turned into a trip through Hell.

Under extreme oppression, Heracles turned over; he no longer seemed dizzy, holding the blanket tightly like a rodent preparing for winter.

...

In the room, Lorenzo walked to the bedside; he didn’t get onto the bed but instead knelt on the ground, placing his hands gently on his knees.

With his eyes tightly closed, he pondered everything under the pure fragrance; Lorenzo felt he seemed to have connected it all together.

What exactly do you want to do, Erin Adler?

You are already wanted by the Viking nations; you should be hiding. Why appear again? Why seek me out and commission me?

Why is the Iron Law Bureau hunting you down? Why is the Choir also zeroing in on you? What is all this about?

Lorenzo couldn’t quite figure it out and was too lazy to continue pondering; compared to Erin or Ivar, he now had far more important work.

Army.

An army that surpasses conventional forces.

And that masked man known as the Dean.

Lorenzo couldn’t help but clench his fists; in the end, the worst-case scenario still occurred. The power of Secret Blood would be abused, and a bloody war would break out again.

Lorenzo was well aware of his limitations; he was powerful, stronger than anyone, but he was only one person. He wasn’t omniscient and omnipotent like a God, only able to protect those around him, perhaps not even them.

Again and again, tragic realities proved everything; at the end of the day, no matter how corroded by Secret Blood he was, he always retained a part of being human, with human weaknesses.

No...

A slight ray of light flickered at the corner of his eyes, as if beneath it lay a vast white day embedded within his eye sockets.

No, Lorenzo cannot end the war, but Lorenzo can prevent its arrival, can stop this insane beginning.

Kill them all, kill all of the Choir.

Execute the Plague Doctor on the cross, whoever the person behind the mask is, pierce his heart with the Nail Sword plated in Holy Silver.

Lorenzo has never been a merciful person; on the contrary, beneath the surface of a rotten man was a hidden, frenetic nature.

He might permit the existence of many things, but the matter of Secret Blood was the one line that could not be crossed.

Remove all obstacles with absolute force.

Lorenzo closed his eyes tightly, but in the darkness, a slight light emerged, like starlight in the night sky, dim light points one after another.

The Secret Blood has awakened.

A strange sense of oppression spread like a tide from beneath his body, one wave after another, with doors and walls unable to hinder its advance.

Everyone near Lorenzo noticed that sense of feeling, an inexplicable cold, as if freezing seawater steeped into their bodies.

Red Falcon shifted his gaze towards the direction of the door; he knew this feeling all too well.

Erosion.

Invisible erosion enveloped everyone at that moment; Eve stood at the doorway. Though she never believed in religion, she prayed softly, hoping nothing terrible awaited beyond the door.

Authority · Gabriel.

With the release of power, in the dead starry sky, dim stars began to burn madly, everyone noticing this rising light.

Unknown monsters squirmed in the darkness, whispering among themselves.

They seemed to be discussing something; some slowly floated towards the burning light, attempting to touch the void white day.

But there was someone faster; unknown entities sensed the beacon releasing light, crossing vast distances to arrive here.

The stars went out.

It dimmed again, with monsters in the darkness letting out unwilling roars. They were so close to reaching, almost finding Lorenzo.

But after the roars, instead of calming down, the monsters observed the dark night sky more closely, awaiting the star to burn anew.

Unbeknownst to all, mottled swords had already been unsheathed, thirsting for blood and retribution.

This was their duty, a vow they had sworn.

No one can cross the [Boundary].

No one.

Lorenzo was oblivious to the bizarre events in the darkness; he slowly opened his eyes, with cold wind grazing his cheeks, and beheld an endless ice field, with a stunning starry sky overhead.

[Gap], this was Lorenzo’s [Gap].

Thinking carefully, Lorenzo hadn’t been back here in a long time... in truth, there was no need to return anymore.

047 was completely dead, with the remnants of his soul like those dead submerged in the abyssal depths of the Ice Sea.

This was a desolate world. Once, there were people to chat idly with, but now it had nothing left, an unfathomably lonely world.

”Long time no see; I heard you started an office.”

A voice sounded in the silent world, and Lorenzo placed a hand on the bench, turning his head.

”Indeed, though I sadly lack an assistant. Interested?”

The cold wind carried away snow dust, clarifying the blurry scene; a woman slowly approached Lorenzo, with the gap behind her gently closing.

”Not interested.”

The woman sat on the bench, a position once belonging to 047.

”Alas, how heartless.”

Lorenzo looked up, gazing at the brilliant night sky.

”So, what did you come to me for? Lorenzo, I can’t always feel your erosion, or answer your call,” the woman asked.

Lorenzo wasn’t in a rush to respond but instead looked at her seriously, inquiring.

”Watson, is Lawrence really dead?”