Gun of Ashes-Chapter 492 - 94: Retirement

Bola looked at Lorenzo with confusion, not understanding why this guy suddenly brought up these things.

Lorenzo gazed out the window, where behind the hazy curtain of rain lay the city he had lived in for over seven years.

Seven years ago, Lorenzo arrived in Old Dunling from the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom to Ingwig. To be honest, that journey was far from pleasant. He had just experienced the Night of the Holy Arrival and had personally laid to rest those he knew. There was no joy in welcoming a new life, only pain to the point of numbness.

Lorenzo remembered staggering into Old Dunling, but without a proper identity, he was rejected. Like most foreigners, he ended up in the Lower City District. For the ruthless people of the Lower City District, a newcomer foreigner like Lorenzo still held some value.

They wanted to rob Lorenzo, but at the time, besides the box containing the Nail Sword, he had nothing left. The outcome was simple: Lorenzo killed them all, straightforward and brutal, like venting his anger over his own impotence.

Because of this reason, Lorenzo transformed from a mere foreigner to a dangerous foreigner. He caught the attention of Bola, who had just taken office, and what followed was known to everyone.

Bola provided Lorenzo with a new identity and a brand new life, while Lorenzo worked for Bola to maintain the balance of the Lower City District.

In a blink, seven years had passed, leaving one to wonder whether it was time’s swift passage or humanity’s forgetfulness that was astounding.

"Why think of these things now?"

Bola sensed a vague unease, even though he had only been briefed on the meeting at the last minute. He thought that Lorenzo had recuperated in his current state. But now it seemed he was still entangled with the past.

"Just wanted to verify... the authenticity of memories from another’s perspective." Lorenzo pondered for a moment and said.

Different people have different perceptions of the same thing. Like the Night of the Holy Arrival, although Lorenzo personally experienced it, for each survivor, everything about that night was entirely different.

Bola briefly recalled and then recounted the past.

"When I saw you, your condition was terrible, your entire body covered in injuries, extremely severe injuries..."

Thinking carefully, the strangeness of Lorenzo was evident even then. Such injuries could easily take a person’s life, yet Lorenzo had multiple fatal wounds. Some had already healed, while others still bled, filthy all over.

The robust physique of a Demon Hunter enabled him to reach Old Dunling alive. Unfortunately, Bola hadn’t noticed these back then, assuming they were injuries Lorenzo sustained from battles with gang members.

"Your mental state was very poor at that time, initially making it difficult for us to communicate with you."

Bola seemed to have reached a critical point, and Lorenzo listened intently, eyes lowered, not revealing any emotion.

"How bad was it?"

Lorenzo couldn’t recall those moments clearly; he only remembered forming a deal with Bola but wasn’t sure what exactly transpired.

He was very afraid.

Lorenzo was scared that his transaction with Bola was also a fabrication of his imagination, a flawed lie subconsciously covered up by patching over those crucial parts.

"So bad that you were murmuring strange words, most of which were mumbled incomprehensibly, but you could make out some prayers in between." Bola said.

"It was the words from your ’Gospel’. I got acquainted with Bluebird back then, who was a believer of your Church, always mumbling those prayers, so I remembered it clearly."

"That’s all?"

"That’s all," Bola said, "What other reactions would you expect? To ignite that white-hot flame? To trigger the Secret Blood? If that were the case, we would have deemed you a demon and killed you on the spot... Even if not killed, the subsequent story would have been completely different, without all this mess now."

Lorenzo no longer spoke, merely pondering quietly.

If there was a period of chaotic memories, it would be from the Night of the Holy Arrival and the subsequent journey to Old Dunling. After the new life began, Lorenzo also felt reborn, acquiring a new name and a fresh start, and it was at that point that memories gradually stabilized, with the unbearable past intentionally buried until today.

It’s truly surprising, the efforts made to live seem to be just muddling through life. The feeling isn’t particularly good.

"So, where are we going now?"

Lorenzo asked, the mist outside the window resembling the fog rising in Old Dunling at night, obscuring the view, only allowing glimpses of umbrellas blooming like flowers and the occasional flash of thunder.

Previously, Lorenzo was at ease with the Purification Mechanism and never asked where they were headed, but now he felt it was better to be cautious.

Lorenzo looked at Bola across from him with ill intent, after all, this guy is a legitimate mob boss, a loyal Upper-Rank Knight of the Purification Mechanism. Perhaps he was stalling for time, and soon the carriage would drive into a pre-prepared open area, followed by countless artillery fire turning him to dust.

The Purification Mechanism had done this before; that’s how Lawrence died.

Bola was evidently unaware of Lorenzo’s thoughts, perhaps not realizing how quickly Lorenzo had become so full of paranoid fantasies.

"Home."

Bola said calmly, just like always, with nothing special about it.