Gun of Ashes

”Changed?”

”Just as you said, although I consider myself human, humans always have an inherent malice that’s hard to change. My will might be strong, but there will always be moments of weakness.”

Lorenzo reminisced about the feeling when he eroded others, the sense of control over everything, as if he were a walking God, the master of the world.

”I feel I have become cold-blooded and cruel, that kind of extreme coldness.

I feel I have become the Shepherd, and the humans before me are just lambs in my pasture, objects I can manipulate at will to achieve my goals. But sometimes, I find myself bound by the human part, the lamb part.”

It’s like using human laws and morals to bind a God... or say, a monster.

Power is intoxicating, and it is also terrifying.

”This is a test, Watson, far beyond the test of Secret Blood. I can maintain myself in the erosion, but I’m not sure if I will indulge in it.”

Lorenzo thought for a moment and then continued.

”I hope I can hold on; I don’t want to become that kind of terrible being.”

The cold wind gradually stopped, and the ice field before him became clearer, filled with solitude and coldness. In such a vast world, only the two of them sat on the bench.

”Then... what is the Silencer?”

Watson suddenly asked.

”I’ve been investigating for a long time... Actually, I encountered the Silencer long before this.”

”Where?” Lorenzo became anxious upon hearing this.

With the current intelligence, Lorenzo’s pursuit of the origin of the Demon had reached an intriguing situation.

He knew very well where the clues lay, those mysterious beings known as the Silencers, and the Boundary they guarded. But Lorenzo couldn’t find them... no, to be precise, he didn’t dare to search for them, knowing that as soon as he crossed the Boundary, those monsters would appear.

Then what?

Could he defeat them? What would happen next? Another Night of the Holy Arrival?

Lorenzo was strong, yet he often felt weak, knowing very well that the door to the Truth was right before him, but he dared not stake everything on it.

”This is the information I wanted to share with you. Even if you didn’t call for me, I would have contacted you soon.”

Watson recalled the previous actions as she spoke. She returned to her homeland and witnessed an incredibly bizarre event there.

”The new Pope.

The new Pope is being hunted by the Silencers. When I infiltrated the Static Holy Temple, I happened to witness all of it. The Silencers appeared from thin air attempting to kill the new Pope, but ultimately they failed. In the beginning, I didn’t understand why this was happening; now, the clues have become much clearer.”

Watson said, looking at Lorenzo, with a heavy gaze.

”The new Pope knows something. He crossed the Boundary, and even more bizarrely, he survived, enduring one attack after another from the Silencers.”

”The new Pope... who is he really?”

At the mention of the new Pope, Lorenzo couldn’t help but think of the deceased Shermans, who was devout throughout his life but died angrily in the end, constantly cursing the new Pope, seeing him as a heretical Demon.

”Compared to who he is, the identity of another individual has become even more intriguing.”

Watson continued.

”Back to the previous topic, is Lawrence really dead.”

This event came to relate back to Lawrence, Lorenzo listening intently to every word of Watson.

”However, instead of explaining everything in words, it’s better to let you see it with your own eyes, Lorenzo.”

Watson suddenly reached out and placed her hand on Lorenzo’s head.

”Indeed, we are changing, becoming some kind of monster we ourselves can’t comprehend, but at least, deep down, I still believe I am human.”

Lorenzo didn’t resist, allowing Watson to get close to him. Through the gaps between her fingers, he could see her colors becoming chaotic.

”May we all die as humans.”

As the words stopped, the entire Gap halted, with the swirling snow frozen in mid-air, each flake reflecting the starlight of the night sky, like solidified gems.

The stagnation ended, and Lorenzo’s Gap shattered, a giant rift tore through the heavens and earth, swallowing the two on the bench.

The scenes in his vision changed rapidly, until all dissolved into deep darkness, and at the end of the darkness were flickering lights, fragments of memories, Watson’s memories.

Lorenzo was pulled into Watson’s Gap, and the next moment, he was submerged in the torrent of memories.

No longer described in words, Lorenzo seemed to return to that time, experiencing the battle that took place in the Static Holy Temple firsthand.

Before he had time to think any further, Lorenzo saw it. Accompanied by flickering arcs, Angels appeared out of nowhere, and before them, the new Pope raised a blade.

This was a past event, Lorenzo felt a bizarre calling, slowly turning his head. His gaze swept over the dark corners, with the darkness slowly writhing, and Lorenzo could see that it was Watson at the time.

But there weren’t only these people here; there was another individual.

Lorenzo saw him, that person covered in filthy blood, his expression filled with panic.

No, this was not him.

Lorenzo understood why Watson wanted him to see this, he could feel Watson’s emotions at this moment, and everything that was happening here.

Beneath this façade lay another soul.

Another Gabriel’s soul.

In these long years, those who possessed the Authority of Gabriel could all obtain the so-called immortality, so where did they all go? Did they really exist?

Would they coincidentally appear here?

If not...

”... you aren’t dead, are you?”

Lorenzo reached out roughly, tearing open the nervous face in front of him, like shattering a mask, revealing another blood-soaked mask beneath it.

It was a mask Lorenzo had seen in a man’s memory, known as the Dean.

”Dean Lawrence.”

...

The pressure brought by the expansion of erosion did not last long; at a certain moment, it suddenly collapsed, and the tension in the room finally eased.

Eve let out a long sigh. She didn’t know what Lorenzo was doing, but judging by his serious demeanor, he wasn’t joking this time.

Red Falcon also slightly lowered his guard, the continuous events were exhausting, his tense nerves relaxed, and he felt a wave of fatigue and drowsiness.

Thinking carefully, life had changed so rapidly in the past few days. A few days ago, he was fishing and chatting with a woman named Gloria, and today, that woman lay before him covered in blood, and she wasn’t just an ordinary person. Gloria was just her disguise; she was Erin Adler.

Red Falcon couldn’t determine if she was an enemy or a friend; he felt that their wonderful encounter a few days ago was very much like a trap, a beautiful lie.

For a moment, he felt a sense of anger at being teased.

But at this moment, a painful groan echoed, and the woman slowly sat up. Her movements were sluggish, probably due to the pain, and she took a sharp breath.

Red Falcon was stunned, but fortunately, with his rich work experience, he quickly reacted, raising his gun to point at the woman. Before he could speak, the woman spoke first.

”Mr. Moon?”

Erin asked.

Words stuck in his throat; Red Falcon couldn’t understand how Erin recognized him, even though he was hiding in a dark corner.

Red Falcon wanted to open his mouth to warn her, saying she was already caught and to confess for leniency, resist for severity.

But Erin couldn’t stand up before she fell again, rolling down, her head hitting the ground with a crisp sound.

Red Falcon froze, then let out a wailing sound.

”Ship’s doctor!”