Embers of Embers

Chapter 182
On the vast land, the dark train almost blended into the night. It moved with the roar of machinery and waves of snow. It ran so fast that it seemed that nothing like past hatred could catch up with it.
Lorenzo pushed open the car door, the cold wind rushed in, the soft moonlight was scattered by the snow curtain, and the night was blurred into hazy gray. They were like the fog of old Dunling, covering every place, An indistinguishable sound sounded behind the curtain, as if a monster was moving under the heavy snow.
He lowered his head and looked at the pocket watch in his hand. It had been a long time since they boarded the train. It was already late at night. They were now far away from the gathering place of humans. At this moment, only this train was traveling alone within a radius of dozens of kilometers.
Putting away his pocket watch and closing the door, Lorenzo muttered something in a low voice, seeming to be counting the time.
There was a slight noise in the dim carriage, and Seleu woke up. She was wrapped in a blanket, like a caterpillar waiting to break out of its cocoon.
"You can still sleep a little longer, we still have time."
Lorenzo said.
In the darkness, the girl shook her head.
"Kind of had enough sleep."
She sat up and leaned against the goods. She was actually still a little sleepy, but it was indeed difficult to fall asleep in this situation.
A faint pungent smell echoed in the carriage, which seemed to be some kind of chemical agent. The carriage shook slightly, like a mother's cradle, but this cradle was made of steel and was running on the rails at a speed of dozens of kilometers per hour.
"It's a bit like before."
Lorenzo lit a cigarette, and a bright firelight lit up in the darkness, illuminating half of his tired face.
"Before? What happened in Gaulonaluo?"
Seleu thought about it as he spoke.
It was like this many years ago, nesting in a corner of the night, two people chatting casually.
At that time, Seleu's world was just that forgotten town. When Lorenzo took her out of the town, she suddenly understood the "outside world".
In an instant her world grew bigger, from that small town to Gaulnaro, to Inverg.
"No, it will take longer, probably when I am still in the Demon Hunting Order."
Lorenzo recalled.
"That's how everyone was at that time. When they were tired of chasing heretics, they would just find a place to rest. They would sit around a bonfire, leaning on their nailed swords. There was no words or communication. Against the background of the fire, every pious person looked like a pious man. Warriors of God.”
He said hehe and laughed.
This is a wonderful feeling. Although there is no sound, you can clearly know that you are not alone. With the flickering of the flame, you can hear their breathing and feel their presence.
"You look like you miss that time."
"Yeah, the Evangelical Church is a sucker, but what does that have to do with where I grew up?"
Lorenzo thought about the past.
"Everyone is a good person, even though the good people are all dead."
"Is that why you want to kill Dean Lawrence so much?"
"Of course, those were all my good friends, and they died so mysteriously. He thought he was fighting for the holy, but he didn't know that all this was due to Lawrence's betrayal."
His voice was calm.
"It's a pity, demon hunters don't have names, all we have is a monotonous and boring code name... I can't engrave some numbers on the tombstone."
No one responded. Seleu could not understand Lorenzo's feelings. The so-called empathy was actually very limited. All she could do was remain silent.
After a long time, she picked up the candy and chewed it, making a soft sound, like a rabbit gnawing grass.
"Are you still scared?"
"Of course, the great Mr. Holmes."
Seleu scoffed.
"I'm just an ordinary weak woman. I'm not like you. The demon hunter can still be alive and kicking when he's shot. But I'm really dead when I'm shot."
"...It's not a good thing to be too mature." Lorenzo said.
"Yes, according to a normal state of mind, I should cry and scream, please let me go home."
Seryu said.
"It's like Yawei wanted to take me to a banquet at that time. Actually, I didn't want to go. I hated unfamiliar people. It felt like an auction. I was the exhibit on the stage, showing everyone the Stuart family new toy."
"But Yawei is very kind to me. Although the old butler is sometimes very rigid, he is really very kind to me. I don't want him to be in trouble, so I have to bite the bullet and go one after another."
she muttered.
"Actually, I should have cried a lot. That would have made everything a lot easier."
Lorenzo laughed at that, and his voice came from the darkness.
"I still remember the first time I saw you."
"It's not the time you remember. In fact, I saw you earlier."
Lorenzo recalled that windy and snowy alley and remembered that the man was dragging Seleu away. The girl's reaction at that time was far beyond Lorenzo's imagination.
Listening to Lorenzo's words, the memory gradually became clearer. She recalled the dream in which she was chased by hounds... In fact, that was her memory. At that time, she was dragged away by a man, and when the dark water submerged her, she I also remembered what I was holding tightly.
"You're so fierce. You picked up a stone on the ground and smashed it down."
Lorenzo thought about the scene at that time, the man's scream, and the girl's escape. At that time, he was still a little unsure of Seleu's identity, but after that, he was sure that this was the person he was looking for.
That stone was her dagger, everything she could grab, smash the shackles.
"But now let alone a stone, even a sword can't kill you."
Seleu said unceremoniously that Lorenzo is her shackle now.
"I can't help it. We have a life-long friendship. It's not too much to lend your life to me."
The relationship between the two is somewhat deformed. They are obviously criminals and hostages, but under that weird trust, they are like friends who travel happily together, recalling the past along the way, talking bad words, and then happily walking towards death.
Seleu suddenly understood why Lorenzo and Oscar could get along so well. Someone who can write such a ghost story can also understand the thinking of this guy Lorenzo.
The boy needs a red rose to please the girl. With the help of the big tree, the little nightingale dyes the flower with blood for the boy's wish, but the girl doesn't like the flower. The boy denounces love. In the end, the flower is meaningless. , just disappeared in the wind.
The poor little nightingale died just for a little kid, but no one remembers its sacrifice.
"I suddenly felt...I was that little nightingale."
Seleu looked into the darkness, but the fire had gone out.
"For your damn idea, I'm going to dye roses red with blood. I don't know if you, a little brat, will ever praise me."
"Of course I will praise you. If I have a child in the future, how about I name him after you?"
"Are you worthy?"
"Ah hahaha, it's not easy to take advantage of the Stuart family!"
Weird joy filled the dimly lit carriage.
In fact, this is a trap, luring Dean Lawrence to arrive.
"But don't say that, Seleu, I hate little brats."
The witcher's voice echoed in the darkness.
"If I had to have a role in the story, I would be the big tree."
"Big tree?"
Seliu didn't understand. In the story, the big tree proposed the idea of ​​sacrificing himself for the little nightingale. In the melodious singing, he lost his friend forever.
But Lorenzo didn't respond to him. He lowered his eyes in the darkness, gently rubbed the dial with his fingers, and watched the time go by little by little.
"I'm starting to understand you, Lorenzo."
She said.
No one can guess a demon hunter who wants to disguise himself. He survived that burning night, and he still misses his friends.
Lorenzo raised his head in confusion, looked at the darkness where Seleu was in, and clenched his hands tightly. Every inch of the metal of the pocket watch was deeply imprinted into the flesh and blood, and he could clearly feel every dent in it. with bumps.
"Yes, a person's world actually has a limit. At that time, my world was that small town, but you opened a bigger door for me... Your former friends are also your world. Those people are familiar with you. , know you, understand you, but one day they all die, and no one in this world knows your past."
The sound was very soft, like a slowly playing movement.
"That Lawrence ruined your world. If it were me, I would kill him by any means necessary."
"But Lorenzo, the meaning of your life is too pitiful."
Lorenzo didn't know, "Pity?"
Lorenzo Holmes, the great detective, is a former demon hunter of the Medanzo branch of the Demon Hunting Order. He chats and laughs with the underworld boss Shrike. He is also brothers with Arthur, the head of the secret agency. He can cut down demons with his raised hand and catch them with his lower hand. small three.
Lorenzo's all-powerful first half of his life was by no means pitiful. If he told Oscar, he might have written a novel with millions of words... But for a while, he didn't know how to refute Seleu, just like It's as if someone has said it right, and even the rebuttal seems weak.
"You are so pitiful. Everyone has a lot of meaning in their existence. Some people do it for their family, their children, their ideals, a better tomorrow, and even a delicious breakfast... In short, there are many things that drive everyone to live."
Seleu's voice echoed.
"But you are different, Lorenzo. The meaning of your existence is only for revenge. Those who took away your past. If you kill Lawrence, you will continue to kill monsters until you kill all the monsters."
"Although your life is fulfilling, you go around taking classes and being a detective, but in fact this is just your disguise. A lunatic can't fit into this society. You need to disguise yourself more like a person."
“But you’re not like a person, you’re a weapon that reads Lorenzo Holmes.
Your real life is completely filled with violence and anger. Look at how excited you are when you slay monsters. Only then will you feel that you are truly alive. Only then can you go back to a long time ago and return to hunting. While the Demonic Cult still exists, pretend that your friends are still there and everyone is happily killing demons. "
Seliu concluded, unable to help but marvel at his own conclusion.
"Your life is too hellish! The listeners will cry when they hear it!"
The voice was brisk, like a conversation between friends, but it seemed so heavy.
Suddenly something came. Before Lorenzo could prepare a word to retaliate, he raised his head sharply, and then cold metal pressed against his forehead. With the witcher's vision, he could distinguish it in the dark. This person in front of me.
"Lorenzo, you are planning something, right?"
Seliu held a thermite rifle against Lorenzo's head. Although he didn't know what this thing was, judging from the appearance of the firearm, Seliu knew it was a weapon.
She dug this out from the pile of goods. After opening the wooden cover, it was filled with such weapons. The conversation just now only diverted Lorenzo's attention. At this moment, Seleu held her stone tightly.
"You madman, this was not a temporary hijacking from the beginning, right? You avoided everyone's sight. What on earth do you want to do?"
Lorenzo is a madman but she is not, and the abnormal trust gradually breaks down, Seleu asked in a shocked voice.
Everything was very strange. The two escaped from the industrial area extremely smoothly. The train schedule and the temporary train change. Lorenzo may have known the existence of this secret line, but how did he know that it would accurately arrive at a certain time? Appear?
At that time, the thick snow curtain had a very short visual range. If it weren't for the short approach, no one would have noticed that a pitch-black train had just moved parallel to them.
Not to mention the key to open the car and the weapons in this car.
"You planned all this...what exactly do you want to do?"
Seleu asked.
Lorenzo did not answer in a hurry. Instead, he picked up his pocket watch and watched the time fly by.
"Just right, almost."
"What's almost done? Tell me clearly! Lorenzo!"
Seleu pressed the thermite rifle harder against Lorenzo's forehead, with his finger on the trigger, trying to make the witcher obey.
But Lorenzo said with a bit of a smile.
"Seleu, I have actually been thinking about it for a long time, thinking about what Dean Lawrence wants?"
"Why are you worthy of his attention?"
Undaunted by the muzzle, Lorenzo continued.
"If he wants to shake the purge mechanism, then he should try to hunt Arthur. If he wants to shake Yin Erweg's rule, he should attack the queen."
"Of course, I don't know how feasible this is, but at least it is possible."
She stretched out her hand, grasped the muzzle of the gun, and opened it. Seleu's strength was no match for Lorenzo. She tried to pull the trigger, but there was no response.
"This weapon needs to be ignited."
Lorenzo answered casually.
Seleu didn't know the use of these weapons at all, she was just a little girl who could throw stones at people.
Pulling away the weapon, Seleu rolled onto the ground. Although her vision was dark, she could see Lorenzo clearly because the burning whiteness in his pupils lit up the darkness.
His face was expressionless, like a sculpture in a church, an angel delivering divine punishment.
Seleu felt fear for the first time, stemming from the fear emanating from Lorenzo.
"So like before, this is another trick?"
At that time, Lorenzo lied to her, saying that he was her distant relative, so he deceived Seliu back to Old Dunling. But this time he deceived Seliu here with a strange story. It was unbelievable from the beginning, and he actually expected it.
"maybe."
Lorenzo said, grabbing Seleu's clothes and forcibly lifting her up.
"I have always been confused about Dean Lawrence's actions, but until one time... I had an explosion of inspiration, and I suddenly understood."
"He possesses the Book of Revelation, which is the key to refining the secret blood. The church was severely damaged and cannot make an effective pursuit, and the purification mechanism cannot pose a threat to it."
"This is already a very good terrorist, the last thing he needs now is... the foundation to support all of this."
He looked at the girl beside him and looked directly into her cold eyes.
"Then, with you, the Stuart family as the hub, and that weird 'memetic pollution', he must be able to corrode a huge group in an instant, right?"
Seliu's heart suddenly became cold.
"That's right, that's how it should be. You are connected because of the war award. This is a kind of oath, a kind of contractual commitment, which can be connected."
"With that illusory oath, he can control a huge system... He may not be able to do it for a while. The beacon of trust has been planted, and the virus will only continue to spread."
The girl's face turned pale.
"how is this possible."
"That's the truth, Dean Lawrence has the Holy Grail, and the mere mention of its forgotten name by that bastard will cause disaster, not to mention the oath at the price of blood."
Weird memories echoed in his mind. Lorenzo didn't know how the Demon Hunting Order finally contained the Holy Grail, but the fear in his instinct warned him, but then he laughed.
"That's probably what it means to be a family."
"So, like I said, I won't know what choice I will make until it actually comes."
Lorenzo smashed the wooden box with one punch, and the weapons and ammunition stored inside poured out. He randomly selected a few and inserted them into his waist.
"I defeated Dean Lawrence once in the [Gap], and I also plundered a part of his consciousness. I know exactly what he will do."
"His body can't hold it anymore. The flesh and blood of the Holy Grail is about to kill him. He doesn't have time to wait... He's already here."
Lorenzo put the girl down suddenly, and covered her head with both hands, which seemed to calm the trembling body.
"Don't be afraid of Seleu, you just get used to this kind of thing."
The witcher comforted her and injected a Florund potion directly into Seleu's body. The chaotic vision suddenly became clear, and then the girl saw the overturned box and the Florund potion inside. It has been injected empty.
"Lorenzo..."
Seleu saw the clear row of needle holes on Lorenzo's neck. At some point, the madman injected all the medicine.
"There is nothing I can do. He is too strong, so hopelessly strong... I have tried my best to restrict Dean Lawrence, but in the face of that terrible erosion, this is still a problem."
From the beginning, this Florund potion was not prepared for Seleu, she just happened to use it by the way. The real user was Lorenzo, who needed to stay awake in the face of that fear.
Seleu looked at him in confusion. It was difficult for her to tell whether this demon hunter was good or bad. This lunatic wanted to use himself to seduce Dean Lawrence, but he also bet on his own life.
The overdose of medicine caused Lorenzo's demeanor to become distorted, and his blood vessels swelled. It seemed that this fragile mortal body would collapse in the next second.
The anger has been burning, almost gushing out of this persistent body.
"You also see the monster in my consciousness. You can't defeat her, and that weird [gap] can't save you anymore, so you can only go there in person, right?"
Under Watson's threat, Dean Lawrence no longer dared to attack from the [gap], he would come in person.
Lorenzo seemed to be not just talking to Seleu, he stared closely into the girl's eyes, the ice blue pupils reflecting the heavy snow curtain.
The silence was broken for a moment, and countless sounds rang out around the carriage, as if millions of people were banging on the carriage. A sharp crash sounded, as if countless sharp knives were cutting the metal, emitting dazzling sparks.
Seleu couldn't contain the coldness in her heart. She grabbed Lorenzo's hand tightly. In despair, the only thing she could hold on to was this damned demon hunter.
The wind and snow reflected in those pupils appeared in the eyes of another person. The scarlet figure stood on the roof of the wind howling car, and the nail sword in his hand was already covered with a thin layer of ice.
"It's really good."
Dean Lawrence admired.
The low temperature and cold greatly limited the power of the monsters. Except for Lorenzo and Seleu, there were no living people within a few kilometers, which directly cut off the possibility of Dean Lawrence's invasion of other people's consciousness and escape from the battlefield.
This is a desperate place, this is the battlefield that Lorenzo carefully selected for him.
The ultimate fight to the death.
(End of this chapter)