Holy Flame

It seemed as if the entire world had lost its radiance, leaving nothing but an unrecognizable pitch-black void within sight. Eve walked through the dark corridor, still yearning for the arrival of light, just as Lorenzo had said: for those who dwell long in darkness, the sight of light would be a kind of hysterical madness.

Lorenzo and Eve were now deep within the bowels of the place. Ever since the Stomach-Chewing Grass had broken free from its restraints, the two had not stopped moving until they reached this point.

The great detective did not know exactly where they were. The surroundings were deathly silent and pitch-black, making it impossible to discern any direction, yet at this moment, maddening sounds began to ring out incessantly.

It was a sound from behind the walls—eerie, indescribable, and hair-raising. It sounded as if thousands of steel needles were lightly scraping against the stone, or perhaps countless vipers were shifting their scales, creating a rustling, rattling noise.

"It's the Stomach-Chewing Grass. It's a construct of flesh and tentacles; calling it grass is merely due to its plant-like characteristics, but its essence remains that of a demon. Now, it has broken free."

Lorenzo's voice came from the darkness, but Eve could not see his figure. This feeling was truly unsettling.

"What should we do?"

"Head upward. We need to find a way out; if we stay here, we will be eaten clean by the Stomach-Chewing Grass sooner or later."

A hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed Eve. It was Lorenzo. He lit another cigarette so that Eve could confirm his position.

The corridors branched in all directions, but the route was easy to confirm: just keep heading up. However, as the two ascended, the corridor began to shake violently. This phenomenon had occurred back in the hall, as if someone were shelling the underground palace.

"Could it be people here to save us?"

In such a life-threatening situation, Eve had forgotten that Lorenzo had used her; she only wanted to escape this nightmarish place.

"Unlikely. Logically, Suaran Hall shouldn't have heavy firepower like artillery. But tonight, only Suaran Hall knew we were here. To mobilize such weaponry, one would need to apply to the military department, and even if they had applied, there's no reason it would arrive this quickly."

Dust fell from the walls of the corridor, layer upon layer, as if the place might collapse at any second.

"Unless... unless there is another group..."

The entire event seemed to clarify. Lorenzo pushed forward with difficulty, trying to find an exit.

Tonight had nothing to do with Lorenzo; this was a power struggle between Sabo and another faction. Those demons weren't prepared for him, but for those attacking the place. Lorenzo and Eve were merely lambs who had stumbled into the middle of this battle.

"Do you smell anything?"

Eve sniffed the air, seemingly having sensed something.

Lorenzo took the cigarette from his mouth; the fragrance of the tobacco was interfering with his judgment to some extent.

Clear sounds of him inhaling came from the darkness. Silence held for a moment, and then Lorenzo's voice sounded again.

"One piece of good news, one piece of bad news."

Pulling Eve along, Lorenzo began to run directly through the corridor, ignoring the sounds made by the Stomach-Chewing Grass. The two of them ran as if they were in a hurry to die.

"The good news is that a more professional group has come to save us. They know to use kerosene to seal the underground palace. Demons fear fire, and this will significantly weaken them."

Lorenzo shouted loudly.

"The bad news is that we are also in the underground palace. They are going to burn us alive along with it!"

The thick smell of smoke could already be clearly detected in the darkness. Even at such a depth, they could feel it; it was hard to imagine what it had become like up above.

"Then should we still keep going up?"

Eve was instantly panicked. If they continued upward, they would inevitably collide head-on with the sea of fire, but continuing downward was merely a lingering, hopeless existence.

"Down! The underground palace is so deep and houses so many people; it must have its own drainage system. We need to find that."

Lorenzo quickly thought of a new route. Before coming to the underground palace, he had made thorough preparations.

"The underground drainage system of Old Dunling serves the entire steam system. It covers every corner of the city. Massive amounts of steam pour out from the steam engines deep underground, and the accumulated rainwater falls back down; all of this eventually returns to the Thames River."

Having mingled in Old Dunling for so long, Lorenzo had long since incorporated all knowledge regarding the city into his mind.

"There must be a sewage conduit in this palace. As long as we find that, we can follow the channel directly back to the Thames River!"

In terms of escaping, this detective displayed incredible reliability. He didn't bother with any further concealment, swinging his cane-sword to hack open the iron door at the end of his vision. After running for so long, this was the first door Lorenzo had seen; regardless of what was inside, he had to go in and take a look.

The iron door shattered, and thick smoke surged into the corridor. The moment the two stepped inside, they felt a wave of scorching heat.

This seemed to be beneath the hall, and at the end of the darkness, a firelight ignited and was rapidly approaching.

It was burning, emitting whimpering wails as it advanced. The tentacles on its body scraped against the walls, making a sound like shifting scales.

"I guess that's the demon associated with the Stomach-Chewing Grass."

Lorenzo's expression was grim. Much like flowers in the natural world, the Stomach-Chewing Grass could provide shelter for demons, but at the same time, the seeds of the grass would parasitize the demon, growing red, iron-like blades upon its hideous body.

Raising the shotgun in his hand, Lorenzo pulled the trigger. Countless pellets struck the flesh with immense force, spraying blood, but immediately after, more tentacles sprouted from the wounds. Intense pain and a desire for flesh drove the deformed demon forward.

"Run! If you see something like a water conduit, hold your breath and jump in!"

Lorenzo did not retreat, merely speaking coldly to Eve.

"What about you?"

Eve didn't quite understand. Was Lorenzo going to deal with that demon alone?

"Run! Staying here will only get in my way!"

The demon began to sprint with full force. Lorenzo shouted in anger, then shoved Eve away. The girl stumbled a few steps, looked at the figure standing before the firelight, and as if having made a firm decision, she turned and ran with all her might, shouting back.

"I'll wait for you at the end!"

In such a life-threatening situation, for someone to actually say they would wait for you—if this were in the past, Lorenzo might have been moved to tears. But now it was different; the urgency of the situation left no time for him to think of anything else.

Essentially, hunting demons was an extremely dangerous job. Everything about a demon corroded a person's spirit, not to mention fighting them at close range and bathing in the enemy's blood.

Even Lorenzo could not guarantee he would remain sane under these circumstances, so Eve had to leave. Of course, there were other factors as well, such as the things that followed which absolutely could not be known by others.

He gripped his sharp cane-sword. Just as the demon was about to collide with Lorenzo, the detective's figure twisted in a bizarre fashion. It was a movement impossible for a normal person's flexibility, yet he achieved it, finding a blind spot in that massive frame before exerting force to slip through. At the same time, the cane-sword sliced through the body, drawing a great spray of blood.

The demon let out a hoarse, miserable shriek. Immediately after, the tentacles on its body seemed to awaken, writhing like a swarm of snakes as they surged toward Lorenzo, but they were met only by a sharp, white flash of light.

Lorenzo leaned on his cane-sword, faint white vapor rising from beneath his clothes like steam.

His gray-blue pupils began to constrict, eventually turning into vertical slits like those of a beast. Something seemed to be squirming beneath his skin, though the presence of his clothes allowed only faint bulges to be seen. He slowly raised his sword, the tip pointing downward; he was still on the edge of sanity.

The next second, the demon lunged forward with a roar, its tentacles swinging like sharp blades. Anything they touched would be devoured by the tiny mouthparts upon them, but that sword light descended like thunder, severing everything like a guillotine.

His figure rolled rapidly. After entering that eerie state, Lorenzo's physical functions were constantly being enhanced; he ran faster and struck with his sword more swiftly. He could even clear the demon's massive body with a single standing jump.

Following this, a shotgun launched an attack from above. Dense pellets struck the demon's head with precision, opening a bowl-sized gap. Lorenzo simply discarded the shotgun, letting it fall as it pleased.

All of this lethal action occurred within a few brief seconds. Lorenzo's body was still suspended in mid-air when he kicked off the wall with both legs. Using that momentum, he gripped the sword with both hands and thrust down with the ferocity of a thunderbolt.

It was a falling bolt of lightning, a sword of fire passing judgment on the demon.

The sharp cane-sword plunged directly through the gap created by the shotgun, piercing the demon's skull. However, at that moment, the Stomach-Chewing Grass also caught Lorenzo. Countless mouthparts bit into him, swarming like a pack of wolves. Based on the feeding speed seen in the pit, Lorenzo would be picked clean within seconds. Even if he escaped now, his body would be parasitized by the Stomach-Chewing Grass, leaving him with nothing but death.

Endless blood would pour from his body, leaving behind only a gaunt skeleton upon the demon—this was the outcome that should have followed, but none of it happened.

It was something that tasted terrible, at least as far as the Stomach-Chewing Grass was concerned. The mouthparts bit through Lorenzo's skin, greedily sucking at the warm blood, but the demon's limited intelligence soon realized one thing.

It was blood that turned the demon's stomach, and Lorenzo's body was emitting the same aura as the demons themselves. It was as if, in this brief moment, this human had become a demon. It was confused, but then, intense pain overwhelmed everything.

Blood-red tentacles wrapped tightly around Lorenzo, but from the gaps between those tentacles, endless white flames were released and surged upward, scorching every part of the demon.

"It hurts, doesn't it!"

Amidst the white flames, Lorenzo's expression was one of madness. His blood was burning like some kind of chemical agent; it had no effect when flowing outside his body, but the moment it touched the demon's flesh, it began to burn wildly.

He leaned heavily on his cane-sword, his blood trailing along the grooves of the blade to reach beneath the flesh, after which even more violent flames ignited. Every inch of the demon's flesh was incinerated into ash by this holy fire, yet it could not harm Lorenzo himself.

The massive body thrashed and collided with everything in its path, attempting to shake Lorenzo off, but the detective remained stuck there as if nailed to its skull. The Stomach-Chewing Grass surged in waves, only to be swallowed by an even greater inferno.

The roaring impacts continued for a long time, like the struggle of a trapped beast, until finally, the demon slowly came to a halt. It was dead.

The holy white flames had burned through its shell; within the massive corpse remained only unburnt flesh and ash. Lorenzo paused for a long time before leaning on his cane-sword and slowly rising to his feet. His face was deathly pale, and he could barely stand.

He usually prepared extensively when fighting demons, but life in Old Dunling had made him forget the past. He had thought the demons were extinct, but today, they had found him again.

The demon had been burned alive by Lorenzo's blood, but Lorenzo himself was also dazed from excessive blood loss. He picked up the shotgun and used his cane-sword like a crutch, moving forward slowly.

His hand gently stroked his back, feeling his spine. Unlike a normal person's spine, there was a very distinct protrusion there.

"The Silver-Binding Bolt is still intact..."

He let out a long sigh, though he did not know what he was feeling relieved about.

But just as Lorenzo prepared to lower his guard, a warning from his instincts flared up once more—coming from ahead of him, in the direction where Eve had departed.