Embers of Embers

Chapter 506 The Hedgehog
The atmosphere that had finally soothed became stiff again. Lorenzo's expression was very strange. He hesitated to speak, and finally sighed helplessly.
And... they are really acquaintances.
Lorenzo felt a headache. He didn't know whether Shrike knew this information, but logically speaking, as the consultant of this operation, it was impossible for Shrike not to know this. In other words, when he described his exploration of the Silent Sea to himself, , and he also knew that he would meet the shipbuilder Floki again in the future.
Now Lorenzo somewhat understood Shrike's complicated feelings at that time. He kept stroking the death knell, not so much looking for the sense of security from the gun, but rather accumulating his own hatred.
The anger and hatred that lasted for ten years continued to ferment and grow in the dark corners of the heart, until it could no longer be suppressed and broke out of the cage...
It’s daunting just thinking about it.
Lorenzo shook his head quickly. He felt very much the same emotion, because Lorenzo had also been dominated by this endless hatred.
Thinking of this, Lorenzo was a little dazed. He looked at Seleu, and the girl looked at him with a puzzled face, wondering what kind of insanity this guy in front of him was committing.
For some reason, Lorenzo suddenly looked very tired, probably because he was thinking of Shrike. He put down the Winchester in his hand, casually leaned against the debris behind him, and collapsed into a ball.
Dominated by hatred...
Sometimes Lorenzo wonders if he can get out of it?It seemed that he was relieved. He became more like a person and did not have a gloomy face so often. He even had many people who could be considered friends. They even gathered with him in the office not long before setting sail. Eat and drink.
Familiar faces appeared in his mind one after another. They were good or evil, alive or dead. They were all people Lorenzo had come into contact with in recent years. They were not just passers-by, but people whose names he could really remember. people.
So...have you really come out of the darkness?
Lorenzo had doubts.
It seems not, just like the conversation with Watson in the train station, Lorenzo is a slave of fate. He broke through the haze of the Holy Night, but then a greater darkness enveloped him, as if A tease from fate.
"what happened?"
The disconnected guy in front of him suddenly fell silent, and Seleu stared at Lorenzo in confusion.
"It's nothing."
Lorenzo raised his head as he spoke and looked at Seleu, his clear eyes reflecting Lorenzo's face.
"I just suddenly realized that it has been so long!"
Lorenzo became happy again and said with a smile on his face.
"Look, the greatest investment of my life!"
As he spoke, he put his hands on Seleu's face and said random nonsense.
"From a beggar to a duke, my investment can be written into a textbook!"
With a look of indifference on his face, Seleu reached out and knocked off Lorenzo's hands.
"I think you can be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of detectives... Do you really count as a detective? A mercenary is more suitable for you, right?"
Winchesters, nail swords, folding knives, and some weapons that Seleu couldn't quite recognize were everywhere in this room. Sometimes she had the illusion that Lorenzo lived in the weapons arsenal.
This place is like a beast's lair, not only dirty and messy, but also covered with the bones of prey.
"There's nothing I can do about it. Why can't I be a detective after being a witcher? Who made the rules? The most you can do is say that I'm versatile. I'm versatile. Do you understand?"
Lorenzo emphasized repeatedly, turning the topic into a joke.
"Are you still afraid of something?"
Seliu changed his words and ignored Lorenzo's nonsense.
This was not a casual remark, but an extremely serious question. Seliu was full of momentum, and his slender figure was sitting honestly on the chair, but it seemed to be blocking Lorenzo's path like a wall.
"what?"
Lorenzo's smile froze, and he began to feel that things were bad.
Unlike many people of the opposite sex that I have known, when certain things are at an impasse, Lan Jade may remain silent, and when you inadvertently pull out a weapon to assassinate you, Irene will be full of sweet words and deceive you into confusion, while Eve will A man of action who will stab you once, or more, before you can react.
Seliu is different, she is a very special, ordinary but extraordinary person, as if she has magic power, and her slender body hides a powerful soul.
She will stare you in the eyes, drag you into a weird atmosphere, question you like a judge, and you have no reservations and nowhere to hide.
"As you said, some people carry weapons with them at all times. Rather than being murderers, these people are probably a group of cowards. They are afraid of something. They are so scared that they have to hold weapons at all times."
Seleu said as he pulled out a small dagger from his sleeve. It didn't look threatening, but it was enough to cut his throat.
"Well... you always put it under your pillow."
Lorenzo remembered this dagger, and Seleucus habitually kept it under his pillow for a long time after being admitted to the Stuart family.
"Do you think I'm still scared?"
Seleu played with the dagger, gently pressing the sharp tip with his fingertips.
"you……"
"Actually, I'm not afraid anymore. It's just a habit for me to keep it. I'm used to having such a thing around me. It's like a souvenir, commemorating the past."
Seliu didn't give Lorenzo a chance to speak at all, and looked directly at Lorenzo with cold eyes.
"So... Lorenzo, you are fully armed now. Are you used to this kind of life, or are you afraid of something?"
Lorenzo always carries a weapon with him, stays with the weapon, sleeps with the weapon, and even says that he himself is a terrible weapon.
"Why do you think so?"
Lorenzo asked back, he was not angry at Seleu's pressing step by step, but found it very interesting.
"Do I need to be afraid of anything?"
Lorenzo asked next, but it was more like asking himself than asking Seleu.
Is there anything left to fear about the invincible Mr. Lorenzo Holmes?
It seems there is no more.
No matter what kind of suffering, Lorenzo survived successfully. He might die, but he would come back again, wielding a nail sword and beat his enemies hard.
Seleu suddenly stood up. Lorenzo was still immersed in his own thoughts and was completely unaware of this until he smelled the approaching breath. Before he could say anything, Seleu reached out and pressed his eyes with force. He opened his eyelids, completely exposing his bloodshot gray-blue eyes.
The distance between the eyes was infinitely shortened, and Lorenzo's sight was covered by Seleu's pupils, as if being pressed down by the blue sea, and he held his breath for a moment.
"What are you afraid of?"
This is not a question, but a statement. Seleu clearly knows what Lorenzo is afraid of.She stepped on the edge of the bed to stand higher, leaning towards Lorenzo and pressing against him.
"I see it in your eyes."
Seleu's voice lingered in his ears. In the previous conversation with Lorenzo, he might not have paid attention to it, but Seleu was fully aware of the existence of that fear.
Just when he asked Lorenzo what was behind the hatch and what the purification mechanism was going to do, Lorenzo had a vague fear, a fear originating from instinct, which flashed past, but was firmly held by Seleu Caught.
Fear...what?
Lorenzo's eyes widened. He knew very well that there were too many things in this world that were worthy of his fear.
He may have really emerged from the darkness. Rather than being dominated by hatred, it is better to say that the things that dominate Lorenzo have changed. Those things used to be revenge, resentment and rage, but now they are replaced by something new. up.
Something more precious, something more worth bleeding for.
Arthur once said this to Lorenzo. He had lost many family members. He was so sad that he was immersed in work, constantly hunting monsters, and heading towards the path of paranoia and madness. Arthur once felt that he was about to become someone. This inhuman thing, in the human skin, the extremely precious heart is slowly deteriorating, becoming as hard as iron stone.
There is nothing wrong with this. Arthur abandons himself and goes to a dead end, until a ray of light saves Arthur, that is the birth of Eve. Although her birth went through ups and downs, when she saw the infant child, she Arthur suddenly felt that everything seemed... not that bad.
Something better and more precious bound him, making Arthur a human being, not covered in stone.
When Lorenzo heard this, he was still dismissive. He never thought that a person who was on the verge of death would be saved so easily, because he was that kind of person at the time, but everything changed later, what is more precious The dark and dirty things in Lorenzo's heart were replaced by something new.
such as……
For example, this can barely be considered a beautiful world, such as a pretty good life, such as everyone he is familiar with, such as these things that Lorenzo cannot give up.
"This is my enemy, the battle I should fight."
Lawrence's words rang in his ears like a curse, and the Seliu in front of him was torn to pieces by sharp claws, turning into burning ashes and dissipating in front of his eyes.
Lorenzo shuddered and breathed heavily, gasping heavily.
He is afraid, afraid of the dark future.
Seleu was startled by Lorenzo's sudden reaction. She couldn't help but back away and looked at the embarrassed Lorenzo. He seemed to have just woken up from a nightmare, frightened and with cold sweat on his forehead.
What on earth could possibly make Lorenzo so afraid?After a brief moment of panic, Seliu came to her senses and looked at Lorenzo carefully.
"Someone's going to die, right?"
Lorenzo didn't speak. This was a really bad development for him. Every time he was alone with Seleu, it was like this. The damn girl in front of him could not help but reveal his secrets.
"Could it be... me?"
Seleu looked directly at Lorenzo, held his face, and continued to speculate.
"No...it's nothing," Lorenzo swallowed and adjusted his mood, "There are some things you'd better not know."
Yes, there were things Seleu shouldn't know, and no, the true purpose of this voyage must not be known to her.
A new reincarnation has begun. The silent ones are attracted by something, so forbidden knowledge can be spread within a small area. This also prompted the move to the end of the world, but Lorenzo knew very well that this time The success or failure of the operation is a cloud of doubt. No one can imagine the final direction, and even if it succeeds, it does not mean that the reincarnation can be ended.
This is a gamble. Once the bet is lost, everyone who knows all this will be liquidated by the silent ones. Whether it is Lorenzo, Arthur, or Queen Victoria, everyone who knows the taboo will not be able to have a good death.
Seliu cannot and absolutely cannot know this.
If they lose the bet, they will just die, but the world will usher in a new reincarnation. Although the war is tragic, more people will survive.
Seliu slowly let go of his hand and sat back with some disappointment.
"You're always like this, Lorenzo," she sighed helplessly, "You're always like this when you reject everyone."
Seliu suddenly became humorous and said with great trouble.
"Do you like kestrels like that?"
"Huh? Kestrel?"
The sudden change in emotions made Lorenzo confused. He was being tricked by Seleu. He really hoped that she would never know Irene, otherwise it would be very bad to think about these two guys getting together.
"I have power and wealth, but I really can't cross this... gap."
Seliu bit his lip, looking even more distressed.
"What are you talking about!" Lorenzo yelled.
"Isn't it? That's what I read in the books."
Lorenzo was stunned, and suddenly felt a sense of sadness. Thousands of thoughts rushed through him, from the direction of the fate of the world to what to eat tomorrow morning. At the end of his thinking, Lorenzo thought sadly and angrily. Is it really reliable to leave Art's future to someone like this?
Just a moment ago, they looked depressed and deep, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them were quarreling over these messy words, but neither of them were stupid. The so-called bad words were just an excuse to escape something, and gradually the atmosphere became silent again. .
"Lorenzo."
Seryu broke the awkward silence and said expressionlessly.
"I've always wanted to do something for you."
Playing with the dagger in your hand, it may be able to cut the throat, but some enemies cannot be killed just by cutting the throat.
Lorenzo didn't respond, and Seleu said nothing more. He stood up and was about to leave. When he walked to the door, Lorenzo suddenly said.
"Have you ever raised a hedgehog?"
Seleu turned around, not understanding what Lorenzo was talking about.
"Actually, I have never raised one. Sometimes I see a few in the grass. It is a very interesting little animal with spikes all over its body. It also seems to make friends with other small animals, but it always happens accidentally. The ground stings hurt them. Although this is not its original intention, it is not a good thing to see the blood you love, right?"
Lorenzo lowered his head, recalling what he had lost, the friends who disappeared in the storm, the door that could never be opened again...
"But don't worry too much about the hedgehog. The hedgehog lives quite happily. Its thorns are very sharp and can easily penetrate the enemy..."
"Can a hedgehog really survive alone?"
Seleu interrupted Lorenzo's words, his voice paused, and he responded hesitantly.
"maybe."
After looking at each other for a short while in silence, Seriu pushed open the door, and a voice behind her stopped her again.
"You won't die, Seleu."
Seleu didn't look back, she left the room, closed the door, and Lorenzo was left alone in the narrow space.
At this moment, Lorenzo was like the shrike during the conversation. His hand had already grasped the Winchester tightly, and his fingers were rubbing repeatedly on the handle of the gun. He looked at the heavy rain outside the porthole, and the thunder reflected his face palely.
"No one will die."
Lorenzo swore.
(End of this chapter)