Gun of Ashes-Chapter 474 - 85: Forgotten Past

With the outbreak of the Night of the Holy Arrival, the Static Holy Temple became the main battlefield, countless Demon Hunters and Demons fought there, and all the millennia-old accumulations of the Demon Hunting Order were destroyed in this burning night.

It was a grand building not inferior to the Saint Nalos Cathedral, now only to be revisited in memories.

Lorenzo walked slowly in the Static Holy Temple... or rather, in the Memory Palace, everything here was just like in his memory, after all, they were built from Lorenzo’s memories.

He passed the Well of Ascension, passed the Gate of Celestial Kingdom leading to the ground, passed familiar structures one after another, Lorenzo finally stopped in front of a door.

He looked around. On the ancient stone walls were different doors, an uncountable number of doors, doors of various styles, some were wooden, some iron, some looked like bedroom doors, and some looked like they were imprisoning monsters.

Each door led to different memories, Lorenzo was puzzled at first, then he figured it out.

This is not the real world, this is a mental world constructed from Lorenzo’s memory. Maybe for Heracles, memory is symbolized by books, whereas for him, it’s symbolized by doors, the doors Lorenzo once pushed open.

Just like recalling the past, he gently brushed over handle after handle, until he paused at a familiar one, he raised his gaze, it was a door Lorenzo was deeply familiar with, his old room.

With force, Lorenzo pushed it open, as if pushing a heavy stone door, dust fell from the cracks, followed by a breeze, mixed with warm sunlight.

"This book is quite interesting."

It was a day of rest, no training, no prayers, although activities were confined to the parish, it was still a rare freedom. 047 sat in a corner of the bedroom, flipping through the book he had transcribed, possibly frowning from time to time, pondering over the distorted text due to his messy handwriting.

"Which one?"

lay on the bed, struggling to look at the book before him, which was also transcribed by 047, but this guy’s handwriting was too messy, looking at it gave him a headache.

"016’s one, she calls this book ’Henry V,’ depicting an ’ideal monarch.’

This kind of conversation seemed to have happened before, 042 asked tirelessly.

"Do you want to become a king, 047?"

"A king, of course, that would be great, being a king seems wonderful, but also very troublesome, right? So many things to do in a day, wouldn’t it be better to be a detective?" said 047.

"Detective..."

muttered, then looked down at the transcribed book, which told the story of a detective named Holmes.

"I’ve been planning my retirement life, I’ve even asked someone to find a route for me, to blend in with those goods, and be transported to Old Dunling."

said as he looked at 042 on the bed.

"And you? Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

shook his head, saying rather sadly.

"No, maybe I’m just a boring person."

always imagined such beautiful things, completely different from 042, he placed too many beautiful hopes for the future, but 042 had nothing, this child was as ordinary as one could be, dazed and silly.

Lorenzo stood by the door, quietly watching this, a touch of sadness added to his face of reminiscing the past.

The question lingered in Lorenzo’s mind, never fading away.

was fictional, nonexistent, even the things Lorenzo now saw in his memory might be memories fabricated by his subconscious to maintain logical consistency, perhaps at some point in the past, there was only 047 in this room.

Lorenzo didn’t want to admit this either, he also wanted to find more clues, more evidence to prove 042’s existence, his own existence, yet he was so different from the 042 in his memories.

The two had completely opposite personalities, it could be seen in their eyes, 042 was a timid child, a well-behaved, mediocre lamb, different from the imaginative 047, his future held no waves, like many ordinary people, an insignificant drop in the ocean.

But how could such a child possibly be the great Lorenzo Holmes?

Memories kept tearing apart, Lorenzo watched the memories of the past, feeling both happy and sad.

He closed the door and continued walking to the endlessly extending end, there were more doors waiting for him.

Pushing open the great door once again, the hoarse sounds of battle rang out.

"042, faster!"

The priest yelled at the boy, in the severe scolding, 042 grit his teeth, swinging his blade with more strength.

It was a blade that had not yet been sharpened, but in 042’s hands, it became a weapon sufficient to threaten life, but this was not enough, what they would face in the future were not humans, but monsters called Demons.

Blades clashed fiercely, each clash came with wrist pain, as if a hammer were pounding his bones, he could barely hold onto the hilt.

"Don’t get distracted, 042."

The opponent said softly in close combat.

nodded slightly, fixing his gaze on his opponent.

was so strong, clearly, they were of the same age, undergoing the same training, but 047 was far more outstanding and powerful than others, yet also humble.

The pale blade light approached again, the usually gentle 047 became fierce, like a beast preying on men.

only became dangerous during training, 042 once thought he liked fighting, enjoyed the sense of accomplishment from defeating others, but later during nighttime conversations, 047 gave a completely different answer.

He just didn’t want anyone to die.

Yes, death is a terrible thing, once dead it’s over, there’s nothing left, nothing to feel, this colorful beautiful world no longer has anything to do with you.

knew their fate, a fate that couldn’t be resisted, the only thing he could do was help others, become as strong as possible, so strong that not even fate or any Demons could kill him.

Only by living is there hope, only by living can there be that wonderful retirement life, only by living can he go to Old Dunling, open up a law office, live the life he longed for.

That’s all.

understood what 047 meant, those Demons were far more terrifying than humans, if he couldn’t even stand up against 047, then when facing Demons in the future, he would undoubtedly die.

He struggled to lift the sword, and with all his strength, blocked that strike when the blade light fell, he succeeded, but the force that followed knocked him back, he was too exhausted, had no strength left to stabilize his balance, and just fell, stirring up dust.

The priest looked at 042 with some disappointment, in a real battlefield, 042 would be dead by now.

"047, you have great potential."

Turning his head, the priest didn’t hide his praise for 047.

didn’t respond to the priest’s words, but helped 042 up.

"I look like I’m going to die in the near future." 042 said a bit dejectedly, he wasn’t weak, but compared to 047, he was still lacking too much.

"Don’t worry, 042." 047 said.

looked at him.

"We won’t face the Demons alone... we’re like a wolf pack, going out in groups, never alone."

So the scene froze at this moment, Lorenzo closed this door, turned around and continued forward, searching for that lost door.

In the quiet palace, countless doors were lined up, like a long corridor, empty, with only him alone.