Gun of Ashes

A demon that still survives to this day.

There are some things Lorenzo is destined to do, such as returning to Saint Nalos Cathedral again, where the story began, and where too many enigmas await Lorenzo.

As for the Secret Blood in his hand.

The remnants of Lawrence certainly lacked the foundation of the Evangelical Church. Lorenzo wasn’t sure from which demons their Secret Blood was extracted, but... perhaps, perhaps Lorenzo could use this Secret Blood as a medium to trace its origin and find the demon’s [Gap].

”Mr. Holmes?”

Erin’s voice suddenly interrupted Lorenzo’s thoughts. He slowly raised his head and put away the Secret Blood.

”What are you doing?”

Erin was holding her face with her hands, staring intently at Lorenzo.

”Watching you. Even now, I can’t believe you’re so powerful, so easily slaughtering the Choir’s soldiers, a one-sided massacre.”

”I’m starting to take an interest in you, Mr. Holmes.”

Erin let go of her hands, showing no self-awareness of being a captive and acting as if she were at home.

”I’ve met many men who at first glance could be thoroughly seen through by me, their likes, experiences, as if they were plainly exposed before me.”

”So you toyed with the Red Falcon in the same way?” Lorenzo asked.

”Red Falcon? Do you mean Mr. Moon?”

Every time ”Moon” was mentioned, Erin couldn’t help but smile.

”No, no, he wasn’t worth my effort. He was even easier to deceive than ordinary men. The things in his heart were almost written directly on his face, like an innocent little boy...”

Saying this, Erin finally laughed, gesturing with her hands.

”But such a big ’boy’ feels like playing with a child. I reach out my hand, and he would sway over.”

Lorenzo kept a straight face, saying nothing.

”Why? I thought you would be mad for speaking of your friend this way.”

Erin’s smile didn’t last long, as she reined it in.

”It’s nothing. He’s just that sort of person, and you’re not wrong,” Lorenzo said.

”In a way, Red Falcon’s life is quite twisted, struggling in the Lower City District, joining the Purification Mechanism. Thinking back, he lived in a twisted world from the start; at least I had a somewhat decent childhood.”

Lorenzo recalled his experiences with Red Falcon.

”But it’s unnecessary to talk about him now. I want to ask you something else.”

”What is it?”

”About Ivar.”

As Lorenzo spoke, he carefully observed Erin’s expression. As expected, Erin was well disguised, but when it came to Ivar, her expression showed subtle changes.

Erin Adler.

Lorenzo still remembered Hebdo’s description of her, like a viper and scorpion.

Beneath the beautiful facade was a dark and murky core. This woman wore a mask that couldn’t be taken off, and no one could see her true face.

Hebdo also said that perhaps even the name Erin Adler was fake, and this woman was entirely made up of lies and deceit.

Interacting with her always led to being played in circles. Although the contact time wasn’t long, Lorenzo sometimes felt he’d need to invade her [Gap] to guess what this woman was truly thinking.

But he didn’t want to do that. Whether it was becoming more like a monster or some other reason, Lorenzo just felt that resolving things so bluntly was like cheating, making victory meaningless.

Just like then, he was fully capable of killing Moriarty, but he didn’t want to do that. Doing so would merely kill an enemy, not utterly defeat him.

”Talk to me about everything regarding Ivar Rodbrock.”

Lorenzo observed Erin closely, eager to see through those scattered clues and understand what Erin was truly hiding.