Gun of Ashes

"Did you feel it?"

042 asked during the march, standing at the front of the group, his sturdy armor acting as the toughest shield.

"Yes, and it's deepening," 016 replied, fully aware of what 042 was referring to—the emotion named fear.

For some reason, the fog between the valleys was growing thicker, severely restricting visibility. The visible distance was pitiably short, and amidst this, the demon hunters faintly sensed the rising feeling of fear.

It was strange because, in the knowledge of the Demon Hunting Order, fear is an emotion that functions as the brain's consciousness protecting itself, warning humans to stay away from the potentially dangerous unknown.

After training, demon hunters have the ability to suppress their emotions to maintain absolute rationality in the face of Demons. Yet now, without erosion or demons, their rationality was gradually being eroded.

016 watched the surrounding fog cautiously, as if something beyond the demons was affecting them from within this eerie mist.

"011, report the situation."

The demon hunter's gaze was as bright as a torch. 011's Authority is Shangdafeng, and although the foresight into the future is very brief, in this mysterious and unpredictable situation, every extra second could be the key to changing the battle's outcome.

011 periodically activated his Authority to warn the entire team.

"Safe."

He answered briefly.

The three began to gradually delve into the fog, and as the dense fog rose, they found it difficult to determine their position, even the buildings within it became blurred, as if at some inadvertent moment, they had reached some unknown world.

Indeed, thinking this way was not far off, as the entire Valley Town was enclosed, completely isolated from the real world, it wouldn't be wrong to say they were in a world cut off from ordinary people.

Suddenly, as if a wind had risen, the dense fog was stirred by an unknown hand, swirling up a frenzy of gray.

Almost in an instant, a rusted long knife cut through the fog, stained with nauseating blood, targeting 016.

"Watch out!"

Shangdafeng's Authority played its expected role at that moment, perhaps 011 didn't have time to warn the others, but that didn't stop him from acting, raising the Nail Sword to block the sudden attack.

The coordination between the demon hunters was demonstrated at that moment, simultaneously with the clash of metal sounds, 042 swung the Nail Sword into action, wearing the most solid armor, completely indifferent to the danger lurking in the fog.

The Nail Sword was raised high above his head, then suddenly fell, like the execution blade condemning death.

Power surged and swelled; often the demon hunters' kills were not efficient, or they chose differently depending on the situation. Most demon hunters would leave cruel wounds on their enemies, seemingly torturing them, but in reality, it wasn't about psychological perversion or some twisted pleasure; it was to instill fear in the enemy.

Defeating the enemy was less terrifying than injecting fear into their mind.

In battles against demon hunters, many ordinary people weren't killed by them but lost their will to fight under the demon hunters' nearly crazy offensive due to fear.

Fear is a universal language that transcends nations and species.

The Nail Sword fell smoothly, and the arm holding the long knife rose out of nowhere, followed by large splashes of blood gushing out.

042 didn't stop, he advanced again, breaking through the mist's cover, immediately facing a hideous and terrifying face.

His firm belief wavered for a moment, his hand gripping the Nail Sword trembled slightly.

It was a strange emotion, similar to fear but entirely different.

"Actually, while fear is terrifying, it is the most familiar emotion to humans."

Amidst the fog, outside the story, Lorenzo sat steadily on a bench, explaining to the other three.

Red Falcon's eyes showed impatience; he hated it when Lorenzo spoke of other things at crucial moments in a story, but Lorenzo continued as if he didn't see it.

"It can be understood as a kind of early warning system inherent to humans, accompanying us since our birth."

Seeing the indifferent expressions of the others, Lorenzo continued.

"I trouble you to consider; this is not just a simple story, it is a valuable demon hunting experience of a demon hunter, special enough that I clearly remember it even now... Perhaps in the future, this story might save your lives."

Maybe it was the seriousness in Lorenzo's words that made the others pay a bit more attention.

Lorenzo then looked at the misty face with a weighty gaze, full of confusion.

"Have you heard of the Uncanny Valley Effect?"

He looked at everyone; only not everyone was as knowledgeable as Lorenzo, after all just like Lorenzo, not everyone would casually attend lectures at a university, auditing all sorts of courses.

"Simply put, this effect can be reluctantly considered a form of fear, but it is much more special than fear. I'm sure you have all had experiences like this, perhaps when looking at a certain small animal at a certain angle, it... suddenly appears similar to a human?"

Lorenzo explained slowly.

"And not only that, when you become aware of this, you might realize that familiar things in front of you start to become unfamiliar, followed by a tinge of fear, right?"

The listeners were silent, unsure if they understood Lorenzo's meaning, until Joey nodded.

"The Purification Mechanism has explored many aspects of the mind, I vaguely recall situations like this, although perhaps not exactly as you described."

Erosion first affects the mind, so a series of research on the mind had already become one of the major research projects of the Purification Mechanism long ago.

Seeing someone finally respond, Lorenzo was much satisfied; he began to empathize with the professors who would ask questions in university classes, only to be met with no response.

"Indeed, however, to explain it in more detail, when humans judge an object, they will categorize it into one category and not as two... you can think of it as a man covered with excessive body hair looking like a monkey.

So when we first see this man, we would only categorize him as either 'human' or 'monkey,' not as a 'man-monkey,' right?"

The invisible fog swirled between them, tiny sounds arose, resembling countless insects crawling slowly.

Lorenzo continued to lecture on knowledge about 'fear.'

"When a creature looks similar to humans, we tend to judge it as 'non-human,' but when that similarity reaches a certain limit? When it becomes infinitely close to humans?

Cats have similar counterparts, dogs have similar counterparts, but humans are unique, we have no similar counterparts; we are a unique branch, the only one.

So when it becomes infinitely close to humans, we instead make misjudgments, hard to categorize if it's 'human' or 'non-human,' and additionally there is the warning arising from survival... we find it difficult to judge if it's the same kind, but once recognized as the same kind, it becomes the most primitive competition, a struggle within the same species."

Lorenzo closely observed everyone, trying to find some interesting expressions on their deliberately calm faces.

"Unlike demons, when we face demons, our own fear gives us answers, even if the demon looks completely human, it doesn't cause us to misjudge.

But the Uncanny Valley Effect is different, it is an unknown, information that transcends our knowledge, completely beyond our understanding."

Lorenzo sat upright, twining his fingers together.

"Similar yet different, originating from that vile nature and the unknown, threatening our essence as 'human' itself."

In the story, 042 tried hard to suppress that eerie fear, breathing heavily, raising the Nail Sword to block the counterattack from the fog. Then its form revealed itself in the mist.

That face was covered with fine hair, skin lined with countless wrinkles with strange symbols painted in foul blood, seemingly due to different skull structures, its skull protruded backward, with deep-set eye sockets, staring at 042, those sockets consuming the surrounding light like an Abyss.

It seemed similar to us but fundamentally different.

The demon hunters roared and swung their swords, perhaps out of fear or anger. The Nail Sword pierced through its chest, leaving red blood flowing along the blade.

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