Gun of Ashes

"Eve! Move it!"

Lorenzo shouted as he moved toward the rear car while pulling the trigger. In this confined space, the shotgun showed its maximum lethality, the shattered pellets piercing through one demon after another, blood spraying everywhere. Yet immediately more demons surged from within, tearing at each other, as if there was some great temptation ahead of them.

Petals flew, and Lorenzo picked up his suitcase with one hand, then tossed it to Eve. The forceful throw made the girl stagger and nearly fall, but she regained her balance, rushing through the iron door toward the back.

But soon, Eve turned back, her face deathly pale.

"What are you doing?!"

Lorenzo yelled harshly, and the girl quickly replied.

"There are demons in the back too!"

"Huh?"

Blasting away a twisted head with a shot, Lorenzo walked directly to Eve with his gun, pulling her to the outside of the car. Then he jammed the door shut tightly. Behind the glass, countless blood-stained hands pounded heavily against the door, leaving cracks spiderwebbing across the glass.

Picking up the strap on the suitcase, Lorenzo hoisted it onto his shoulder, then hung it at his waist, drawing forth a nail sword glinting coldly from within.

"Demons at the front too?"

Lorenzo was somewhat bewildered. With such a dense outbreak of demons, it seemed the train was packed with them from the start. So the question arose, why this train, why was it related to him specifically?

Thinking of his boundary-breaking spiritual vision and Eve's spiritual vision phenomenon, Lorenzo had a rough hypothesis. Perhaps their deep connection with the dark led to all this; they had been discovered by the darkness, and thus these demons came shadowing.

But... why now?

The sharp nail sword pierced through the thick iron door, skewering the demon behind it as well. The holy silver coating was stained with demon blood, sizzling with a sound like acid corrosion.

"Climb up!"

At that moment, Eve shouted too, the silver bell in her hand issued a dull roar, blasting enormous holes into the iron door, behind which blood surged wildly.

These were just the lowest level demons, mindless and driven only by blood, yet Lorenzo couldn't let his guard down. Among them might be elites like Sabo lurking within.

The two stood at the coupling between cars. Lorenzo lifted Eve and sent her onto the roof, then climbed up himself. The gale atop the train kept him from opening his eyes, the sharp nail sword piercing the rooftop to stabilize his form.

"Forward, Eve, we need to find a way to the engine!"

That was Lorenzo's plan—to fight their way to the engine, disconnect those hooked links, and say goodbye to this damned horde of demons.

"Why are there demons here?!"

The pitch blackness of the moment truly frightened her; the passengers' murmurs abruptly halted, followed by the sound of bloodthirsty panting. Mere moments ago, they were human, yet the next second, they became part of the demon horde.

"Two conclusions. One, our connection with the darkness has grown so close it's within reach. But from my professional experience, if we truly reached such deep darkness, it wouldn't be this rabble coming after us."

Lorenzo climbed after Eve, moving like he was scaling a snow-capped mountain, inserting and pulling out the nail sword repeatedly. He could hear the din below, sometimes pulling the sword would bring up a hint of scarlet.

"So there's only one conclusion. Demons were lurking on this train from the start, but... why this one specifically? Is this damned connection the reason? People connected to the darkness are drawn to each other, is this some cosmic joke?"

Lorenzo had a tendency to overthink when idle, like now his mind mused this mystical setup seemed to be called 'fate' in the orient.

What kind of nonsense is this!

Glass shattered, metal twisted, grotesque arms reached from both sides of the train car, densely packed like wildly growing bloody plants.

Gunfire continuously opened a bloody path.

"And there's one more issue!"

Grabbing the panicked Eve, her slender body was like cargo clutched against Lorenzo's side. With a powerful leap, Lorenzo bounded over the thronging demons, landing atop the next car.

This was specialized training from the Demon Hunting Order. Even without awakening their Secret Blood, demon hunters had physical abilities, senses, and various intuitive skills that vastly exceeded normal humans. Yet they were still human, easily susceptible to death.

"Are these damned things really just here for us?"

This time, Lorenzo didn't let go of Eve; who knew how many demons were in that car. They were packed like sardines in a net, squeezing against each other, desperate to escape and gnaw at warm flesh.

This was endless killing... Lorenzo might be able to slaughter them all, but then he'd have no strength left to protect Eve.

Secret Blood was a technique against demons, transforming oneself into a demon to kill demons. Lorenzo's Secret Blood was the result of countless perfect trials, and his own willpower ensured he wouldn't be overtaken by demon corruption.

But Eve was different. This foolish girl didn't even know how she got the Secret Blood, let alone its effects. Combined with that willpower... if Eve awakened her Secret Blood, she might last one or two minutes before being completely turned into a demon.

"If we survive, I really need to train you properly. You're a real liability!"

Sprinting atop the train, Lorenzo shouted to the Eve under his arm. The girl's face was pale, unable to speak, but her hands didn't stop, firing occasionally behind them, killing the demons climbing up the train.

Secret Blood was the core technique of the Demon Hunting Order. It allowed humans to gain demon strength, but also subjected them to demon corruption. Unlike ordinary corruption, this one was controllable. As long as it didn't surpass the critical limit, Secret Blood caged the demon, subject to the demon hunter's command. But the moment it exceeded that limit, cracks formed in the cage.

This aspect was akin to the Armor of Original Sin of the Perpetual Motion Pump, fighting on the edge of danger. But with Secret Blood technology, the demon hunter himself was the ultimate weapon.

"Lorenzo! We're almost there!"

Eve turned her head with effort, the steam-spewing engine was not far ahead, about four or five cars away.

"I know!"

With another leap, Lorenzo landed steadily on the next carriage, closely followed by the demons. They screeched and scraped against the steel, like feathers chasing the wind.

Almost there, just three carriages away from the locomotive, but it was then that Lorenzo noticed the first carriage. It was a model he had never seen before; pitch-black steel completely encased it—more like a gigantic iron coffin than a carriage, housing something ominous within.

Perhaps... that was the source of the demons' chaos?

With this thought, Lorenzo dashed forward with Eve, until a sudden surge of flames separated them.

...

"What's happening!"

The sound of gunfire erupted from behind, causing Red Falcon's nerves to tense up.

Then the piercing alarm blared through the somewhat constricted carriage, with every soldier's chest flashing a glaring red light from the Geiger Counter, now shrieking like a sharp knife, slicing through everyone's nerves.

Demons had appeared aboard this train.

No words were needed. All soldiers gripped their weapons tightly. Two went to the first carriage to protect the weapons from Borhans, while the remaining soldiers stayed with Red Falcon in this mobile command post, maintaining the upper hand as long as they held it.

"Send a message to Bola, have him rendezvous with us at the station!"

Red Falcon shouted to the soldiers, aiming to hold out until they reached the abandoned station for reinforcements. But soon the soldiers replied.

"There's interference!"

The voice was faintly wavering; they were isolated, shrouded by an inexplicable force, blocking all communications.

The surrounding night was so pitch-black, with only the Radiant's headlight illuminating like a lone island in this sea of darkness, while the tide surged, trying to engulf it.

Gunfire thundered, spitting flashes several feet long as metallic bullets shot out like rain.

The lights had already vanished, as they always did upon a demon's arrival due to various reasons; clear skies would turn cloudy, electric lights would suddenly short out, until darkness was everlasting.

The dome-shaped helmet's lamp flickered on, interlacing with the gunfire, its beam sweeping incessantly, peering into the dark corners.

"We need to cut the couplings!"

One soldier shouted; in this fight, they were doomed if continuously exhausted. If they could cut the couplings, at the speed of this train, the demons wouldn't be able to catch up.

Everyone understood this logic but also knew it was almost an impossible task.

The carriages were linked together, and anyone attempting to cut the couplings would be caught between the guns and the demons. Without shooting, the demons would rush in, but with shooting, the one cutting the couplings would be dead for sure.

Someone needed to make a sacrifice.

"Hold the line! I'm going to cut the couplings!"

After a brief hesitation, Red Falcon declared loudly. As the only Upper-Rank Knight against the demon's corrosiveness, there was no one else for this mission.

"This is suicide!" A soldier tried to dissuade him.

"I have a plan!"

Red Falcon appeared extremely confident, perhaps to bolster morale.

Suppressive fire continued, spent shells lightly covering the ground, reflecting the lit flames.

"Clear the way!"

Red Falcon ventured deeper into the darkness, then shouted as he fired his weapon.

This was Borhans' weapon carriage, practically a mobile armory. Even without acknowledging the secret weapon behind, its guns and ammunition were lethal enough.

As he fired, the projectile left a burning trail in the air, striking the eerie darkness. Instantly, a more significant flash of light erupted, like a blazing sun, engulfing everything in flames, distorting the demon's shape like a sinner writhing in Hell's fiery river.

Grasping the Borhans Military Factory's white phosphorus incendiary round, Red Falcon's hands trembled slightly. Had he misfired, the whole carriage would have already turned into hellish flames.

But now was not the time to daze; he growled and sprinted into the scorching air.

The ongoing inferno temporarily restricted the demons' actions, giving Red Falcon a chance to sever the connected couplings. However, as he dashed out of the carriage, he found the massive hooks covered in flames, making them impossible to grip.

Damn it! Damn it!

Red Falcon cursed, but without hesitation, thrust his hands into the flames. He had to cut the link regardless, and just then, a gust seemed to blow, prompting him to look up, seeing a sword light slicing through the sea of fire.

"Damn unlucky!"

The man cursed, leaping from the flames, carrying a bewildered girl under his arm, a case and a Winchester at his waist, and holding a blood-stained blade.

It was a high-tone cleavage of darkness, dazzlingly unstoppable, an unparalleled hero traversing the whole carriage.

Everyone froze at this startling sight, while the second-rate detective made a shining entrance with his beloved Winchester.