Gun of Ashes

"Help him, Plague Doctor."

Lorenzo said as he drew the Nail Sword, forcefully planting it on the ground. He took a deep breath, accelerating the healing of his body.

The Plague Doctor didn’t say much. He walked to Froki’s side, crouched down, and pressed his hand onto his chest.

The amorphous flesh began to writhe like growing branches. Scarlet tentacles emerging from the Plague Doctor’s fingers deeply embedded into Froki’s body, entangled around his damaged organs.

Just like the parasitism he had previously performed on the Sea Serpent, he now parasitized Froki, but this time it was aiding Froki’s self-healing. The scarlet tentacles completely enveloped Froki, then began to sink into his flesh, filling the gaps.

The Plague Doctor withdrew his hand and stood up, glancing at the somewhat wretched Lorenzo. He waved his hand again, and the scarlet tentacles wrapped around Lorenzo’s wounds, delving deeply into the flesh.

The pain made Lorenzo break out in a cold sweat, but soon the active flesh pulled at the torn tissue, speeding up the healing of the flesh.

"To be honest... this feels a bit disgusting," Lorenzo said, enduring the strange sensations in his body.

The Plague Doctor heard Lorenzo’s words, frowned, unable to understand what this guy was talking about.

"Am I drinking your blood, eating your flesh, Plague Doctor?"

"Stop disgusting me, Holmes."

Upon hearing Lorenzo’s nonsense, the Plague Doctor looked visibly annoyed.

The two exchanged a glance, paused for a few seconds, then couldn’t help but laugh. The laughter was somewhat bitter but also carried joy.

They had learned the secret and survived... for now, but that was enough.

"Now you really look like a doctor," Lorenzo said.

"A scalpel can be used to remove tumors or to slit throats... it just depends on how you apply it," the Plague Doctor responded.

The parasitic flesh began to assimilate with Froki’s body. In theory, he would be assimilated by the Plague Doctor and become his puppet, but this time the flesh only filled his body without doing that. After a while, he slowly awoke, though judging from Froki’s somewhat vacant eyes, it seemed his brain was still blank.

It was during this respite that Lorenzo and the others recovered almost fully. Looking at the Black Angel, Lorenzo asked.

"Watson, how did you know about this place?"

Although the Pioneer had said the sanctuary was below, in that situation, no one was confident about finding the way. Yet Watson miraculously did it, leading the group away from the frenzied battlefield and through turbulent waters to reach here.

"I don’t know; he told me,"

Watson said. At that moment, dim lights began to illuminate ahead of Lorenzo and the others in the darkness. Perhaps they hadn’t been activated for too long, as some flickered a few times before going out completely, leaving only scattered lights to guide a path in the darkness.

"Who is he?"

"The Secret Keeper... maybe,"

Watson said, somewhat uncertainly, as the Black Angel began to stride forward along the path.

This must be an unexpected surprise, Lorenzo thought he would never have the chance to meet the Secret Keeper, but by some lucky coincidence, he had still arrived at this mysterious sanctuary.

Perhaps the Secret Keeper had not appeared initially because of the Pioneer, who persistently followed the group, causing the Secret Keeper to remain silent. But with Edlen’s intervention, they finally had some chance to lead the group forward.

"A barrier completely made of Forbidden Alloy... Holy Silver."

Lorenzo mused as he proceeded, glimpsing things in the darkness as dim lights revealed them.

The steel surfaces were covered with rust and dust. This place seemed to have been engulfed in silence for far too long, with dust filling the stale air.

Along the way, Lorenzo saw some exhaust fans, densely positioned in corners. However, most had stopped operating, with only a few laboriously turning, their speed slow, seemingly ready to stop at any moment.

Then came an endlessly long corridor.

Lorenzo and the others followed the guiding lights out of the building, walking onto a high-suspended corridor, with endless darkness both below and above, connected on both ends by smooth, boundless metal.

These also seemed to be constructed of Forbidden Alloy. As for what lay within, Lorenzo wasn’t sure, probably some technology from humanity’s past.

This place must have been extremely prosperous once, but with the passage of time, it became withered and dilapidated.

Lorenzo could feel the place was suffused with a dying atmosphere, just as the Pioneer had said, the Secret Keeper had dwindled, and now everything was merely lingering on.

The passageway lit up again with the glow of guiding lights. The route here was as complex as a maze, but fortunately, the lights guided them, preventing Lorenzo and the others from getting lost. Although the Plague Doctor was quite curious about other pathways, he wanted to explore, Lorenzo held him back.

Their primary goal now was to follow the guiding lights to find the last Secret Keeper.

They didn’t know how long they had walked, but Lorenzo and the others seemed to arrive at a place resembling a residential area—the edges of squares were lined with residences that were small yet adequate for survival.

Lorenzo did not see any humans meant to survive here; instead, dust and debris were everywhere, along with various metal wreckages. They lay shattered on the ground, broken into countless pieces. Looking up, Lorenzo felt they must have fallen from the darkness above.

Then came tunnels covered by accumulated water, possibly due to a pipe burst. These liquids spewed forth, staying for an unknown duration. Judging from the water stains on the tunnel walls, the accumulation once completely blocked the area. After many years, most of the liquid evaporated, leaving only remnants.

"It’s really decrepit."

The Plague Doctor sighed, even he could sense the technology and power contained here, but this once-glorious existence collapsed with time, becoming what it is now.

The group finally halted in front of a massive wall where the guiding lights led them. After waiting a while, a dull mechanical sound echoed, and dust cascaded down, indicating this place hadn’t been opened for many years.

"Is this... a door?"

Lorenzo looked up at the massive wall, slowly beginning to split.

In his mind, the last grand door he had experienced was at the Workshop of the Perpetual Motion Pump, but this door was far larger and heavier than that.

A crack appeared, gradually widening, dust flying within it.

The hearts of Lorenzo and his group raced with its opening, but soon, the noise stopped, and the door ceased to open. Lorenzo paused and walked forward to kick it a few times; however, there was no reaction.

"It... seems to be broken."

Lorenzo said uncertainly, while the Black Angel stepped forward, trying to pry open the door with its Iron Feather, but it was too heavy to budge.

"Has this place already crumbled so badly?" the Plague Doctor couldn’t help asking.

"Apparently," Watson looked around, continuing, "This is a sanctuary for life, yet it’s lifeless."

"Nothing lasts forever in the face of time."

Lorenzo said as he approached the crack in the door. He tried, then said,

"We can squeeze through here."

As he said this, Lorenzo began attempting it, turning sideways to move deeper inside. After considering, the Plague Doctor followed Lorenzo, while Froki stood vacantly, without much independent consciousness. After a few seconds, he also followed, mimicking Lorenzo’s movement to squeeze through the crack.

One might have expected some grand entrance to meet the Secret Keeper, but in the end, it became so ridiculous. The Black Angel stayed behind; its size made it hard to enter, and the human body inside it had long merged with the armor.

Lorenzo advanced along the narrow gap when suddenly his mind went cold, as if something was coming.

[Watson?]

[Yes.]

Lorenzo said no more, already used to this resident, as he continued forward, with a faint blue glow appearing in the deep dark.

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