Embers of Embers

Chapter 190 Calling Humans
The space in the cabin is not too big, and as the Voyage to Dawn moves forward, the whole thing shakes slightly.
It seems that these people don't care about the comfort of this war machine. The air is filled with a faint smell of engine oil, the light above the head flickers briefly, and the monotonous ticking sound keeps ringing. That is the cover placed in the cabin. Leather counter, its indicator is stable and glows with stable bright green color.
Seleu sat in the corner, and Kestrel helped her fasten her seat belt because it was too bumpy.
Her condition didn't look very good, or very bad. Her face was expressionless and she was staring at something in the center of the cabin.
It was a cargo platform, which was firmly locked in place by a leather belt to prevent it from sliding. There was a person lying on it, covered with a layer of overcoat and wearing a restraint suit. It looked like an insect egg.
After a period of vigilant observation, Arthur confirmed Lorenzo's coma and transferred him to the Voyage to Dawn. In fact, according to everything so weird before, the safest way is to notify Shrike for another bombardment. After all, this dead man The resurrected guy looks extremely dangerous no matter how you look at it.
But after a brief psychological struggle, Arthur gave up this idea. What happened to Lorenzo was a strange unknown to them, and the best way to deal with the unknown was to accept it, understand it, and transform the unknown. is known.Absolute destruction of the unknown is merely an escape.
There is another person in the cabin. Kestrel is sitting on the other side holding a preheated thermite rifle. According to the containment procedures of the purge agency, there should now be a circle of tough men guarding Lorenzo, at least dozens of aluminum rifles. The thermal rifle was pointed at him, and if something was wrong, he had to make sure that this lunatic could be melted into a statue as soon as possible.
But... this is obviously unreliable for this mysterious psychopath. The horrible shelling and crude oil explosion just now failed to kill him, let alone these ridiculous thermite rifles.
So Kestrel was the only one left. Although he had some trust in this demon hunter, after seeing everything that was terrifying just now, Kestrel still thought it would be better to bring a weapon. Although he was not sure whether this thing could fight Lorenzo, But at least it gives me some peace of mind.
"Are you ok?"
Except for the rumble of the engine, the cabin was extremely quiet. Kestrel couldn't bear the damn calm, so he talked to Seliu on the side.
"It's... okay."
Seliu responded in a low voice. Her brain was still a little down. So many things happened in an instant. The girl's world was torn apart and reorganized several times.
Everyone needs to talk, and the sudden conversation made the solemn atmosphere relax a bit.
"I've never seen a Lorenzo like this."
She said.
"What kind of thing? I've seen a lot of this kind of peerless macho state... You don't know how exciting it feels when you see him in the demon tide."
Kestrel recalled the first time he saw Lorenzo, the train of Glory filled with demons. The demon hunter held back the tide of death by himself.
"To be honest, with this psycho around, sometimes I feel so safe."
Seliu felt a little surprised, and then she said.
"You seem to know each other very well. He never tells me these things. Sometimes I don't even know what he is thinking."
Kestrel's eyes changed slightly, and he realized something.
"This is normal. After all, we are fighting demons and avoid taking innocent people into the water. We will minimize communication with ordinary people as much as possible."
"You have also seen that the demon is obviously far away from your world, but because of Lorenzo, you were involved in such a terrible incident."
As if remembering something, Kestrel continued.
"Actually, that's it. Ever since I entered this industry, I've been like an autistic child. I don't have a normal social circle, and I don't have many friends... In fact, everyone is just like us."
"Don't you feel... sad?"
Seliu asked confused.
“But if a friend is targeted by a demon because of his connection with us, it will only make people sadder.
It is better not to have it in the first place than to lose it. "
Kestrel replied calmly.
"In this business, you will always lose something, such as a normal life. Just get used to it."
"But it still sounds stupid."
Seliu still couldn't understand. This feeling of giving in vain was unknown to them. It was a dark city wall that would not be recorded even if they died.
"Like what, die for a cause of justice?"
Kestrel asked, nodding to himself as he spoke.
"Yes, that's what it means. I felt the same way when I first entered the industry. I was so stupid that I even said I would die like a fool."
"But...someone has to be a fool, right?"
He laughed at himself.
"Some things always need to be done by someone, some are the fire bearers in the darkness, some are the burners of firewood...Some things always need to be done by someone, and that is enough."
Seliu nodded in understanding. She looked at the unconscious Lorenzo, her eyes becoming complicated.
"Are you just such a bunch of idiots?"
"probably."
"Only idiots seem to understand each other."
"If you insist on saying that, I can't refute you."
The two chatted without a word.
"However, it is better to say that we are a group of people gathered for the same goal."
"What kind of goal?"
"To maintain a sane world," Kestrel said, "human beings cannot continue to live in fear."
This was what Lorenzo had also said, and Seleu was slightly touched.
The conversation was neither superficial nor profound, just like chatting. The two of them seemed to maintain the tacit understanding they should have, not touching the cruel depth.
"What will you do next?"
"doing what?"
Kestrel didn't understand.
The girl adjusted her words and spoke again.
"That's right, what to do to him?"
She stretched out her hand and pointed at Lorenzo, who was still unconscious.
In Seleu's mind, they would regard Lorenzo as some kind of monster, and maybe this unlucky guy would spend the rest of his life in a strictly controlled prison.
"Oh! Well, this should be taken back to the headquarters for a complete set of examinations, and then isolated for observation."
Kestrel recalled that the previous follow-up containment of Lorenzo probably followed this process. It seemed that their cooperation with this demon hunter was really close. Just bring it back to him.
"Won't you kill him?"
Seliu was a little worried.
Although he was a small shareholder of this mysterious department, Seliu could already feel their terror from just a glimpse of this mysterious department.
This is a group of machines that act entirely on absolute will, and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.It’s hard to imagine what would happen if Lorenzo, who had almost been transformed into a monster, fell into their hands.
"Kill him? Why? There are not many great men like Lorenzo left. Without him, this operation will only pay a greater price."
Despite being afraid, Kestrel was still in awe of this demon hunter. After all, not everyone had the courage to launch a suicide attack with a train of crude oil tanks.
Lawrence is so terrifying, cunning and weird. In the previous fight, if Lorenzo was a little cowardly, he might discover his intentions, causing the entire plan to abort.
But in the end, it all succeeded. The demon hunter not only succeeded in taking Lawrence to death, but also released Seleucid in advance. In fact, in the original plan, the only time Lawrence showed flaws was when he invaded the consciousness of others.
At that time, Lawrence would not be aware of external things, and that was the perfect time for the assassination. In other words, in the original plan, it was Seleu who should die in the explosion.
But Kestrel won't say this. The plan has been successful. There is no need to let the girl know the dark side of the world. After all, there are still many beautiful things.
"But he became like that."
Seliu said slowly.
In fact, everyone has seen that terrifying black-winged angel, that twisted and abominable egg, which has transcended human understanding of demons, and is an unknown that breaks common sense.
"You think he looks like a monster, so you're worried we're going to kill a monster?"
Kestrel accurately discovered the problem with the words.
Seliu was stunned for a moment, and after a while she nodded.
"Don't worry, the value Lorenzo brings is enough for us to ignore his risks. Let alone kill him, we might invite the best doctors to ensure that he can recover quickly so that he can continue to work hard. After all, there are so many monsters. It won't be finished in a while, and seeing how excited he is, he seems to like this job quite a bit."
Seliu's eyes were strange. Under Kestrel's bad words, his worry about Lorenzo turned into a state of, "This must be some black-hearted company. How could I invest in such a thing?"
The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed for the time being, and Kestrel liked it very much. It was much better than the solemn feeling just now. The atmosphere before had always given him a feeling that Lorenzo might suddenly get up and lose control, and become a complete monster. Transformation, with the premonition that everyone will die together.
It's much better now, just like changing from escorting a dangerous target to sending Lorenzo to the crematorium, choosing a good cemetery for him in Old Dunling, and then saying goodbye to this ghost guy in the midst of laughter.
Kestrel laughed stupidly, and this sudden smile made Seliu feel a little hairy.
In fact, Kestrel is also a rotten person, he talks rotten words when he is nervous, it seems that this can relieve his pressure, just like telling cold jokes in front of monsters, no matter how depressing the atmosphere is, he will make a mess of shit.
"You still don't understand us. We are idiots who gathered for the same goal. For this goal, we don't even care about our lives. Do we still care about whether our colleagues are monsters?"
Despite what he said, Kestrel still clung to the thermite rifle.
"What do you think is the standard for judging a human being as a human being?"
he asked immediately.
"Looks like a human, has a body shape like a human, can speak, can think, or does it have the same body structure as a human?"
The girl was at a loss as Kestrel asked her questions one after another.
"Do you know about the Ship of Theseus?"
"A large ship sailing on the sea constantly replaces the planks from the beginning until all the original planks are replaced... Is it still the same ship as the original one?"
Seleu loves reading, she knows what it is.
"In fact, the demon hunters are the ship of Theseus. From the moment they implanted the secret blood, they moved in an inhuman direction."
"The secret blood continues to transform them, making them stronger, stronger, and longer..."
Kestrel said as he looked at Lorenzo, who was unconscious in the center. He looked more like a "demon" who maintained human form and was in a stable state than a human being.
"Do you think Lorenzo is still human? How can anyone survive such trauma, don't you think?"
Kestrel looked at the girl again. She obviously didn't know how to answer Kestrel. She had never been exposed to such a world, a mysterious and dark world.
"But how can you say that Lorenzo is not human?"
From a physiological point of view, Lorenzo is indeed not human. He is a hybrid of demon and human. He is an alien wandering between two worlds. He does not belong to either side and will never belong to either side.
But how could he not be a human being? He has been fighting monsters from the perspective of a human being, maintaining a rational world, and burning all fear with the flame in his hand.
"In the final analysis, this thing is actually quite philosophical. To put it another way, if a person's brain is removed and soaked in nutrient solution to maintain his life... he does not have a human body and cannot even communicate with others. If not, then is he still human?
Or a disabled guy uses steel and machinery to make up for the missing parts, but what is the difference between this and a demon hunter transformed by secret blood?They have all been changed by external forces, so are they still human? "
Kestrel said firmly.
"No, these are not the criteria that determine a person's character. The real criterion that determines a person's character is will."
"will?"
Seleu asked.
Kestrel nodded seriously and said.
"Yes, will, human will, unyielding will."
he said mockingly.
"Do you think those who commit evil are still human beings? They have human bodies, human structures, and human appearances, but do you think they are really human beings? No, they are just beasts wearing human skins. "
Kestrel looked at the sleeping man in the center.
"Lorenzo Holmes is a real human being. Although he is a monster and an extremely dangerous demon hunter, he is still a human being, a complete human being."
"The monster's body contains human will, pure will. This is an unchangeable fact."
"Although he is simply talented but not moral in some aspects, you have to admit that he does have his own bottom line, a bottom line that cannot be crossed. That bottom line shapes the will of mankind, so he raises a burning fire in the darkness. "
"Will is the criterion for judging people, and this is human beings. Even if they know they are a fool, they still have no hesitation."
"Charge towards the hopeless place of death!"
Kestrel said angrily, but his hand was still tightly holding the thermite rifle, and he smiled as he spoke.
"Of course, it's normal to be afraid. After all, we are human beings. Human beings are destined to be imperfect. It's normal to be afraid of cowardice."
But this is why the kestrel is in awe of Lorenzo. The demon hunter never seems to know what fear is. The fire of anger is burning like a devilish child. It doesn’t matter whether you are afraid of fear or darkness, just light the fire first. .
At the end of the sentence, he became calm and silent.
Seleu looked at the guy sleeping in the center, as if he had gotten to know Lorenzo again.
There is a paranoid heart in that monster-like body.
The human heart is a little ridiculous, a little crazy, and a little angry.
　I've been feeling cold and weak recently. I'll take care of myself for a few days before I go to bed.
　
(End of this chapter)