Ember Gun

   Chapter 356

This was a terrible meeting, and it was even said to be a bit sad. In Arthur’s perception, the old friend in front of him died as early as the moment he entered the Black Mountain Hospital more than ten years ago. Although the body still exists, There was some naive reason, but he was very clear at the time.

Cole is dead, Mordred is dead. At this moment, what is hidden in the body is only a reason that has been eroded and corroded, and a soul that is muddled. The doctors are just out of ethics. He has not been euthanized, after all, the value of his research has been exhausted long ago.

  How could Arthur never think that, after so many years, Cole could still talk to himself rationally, which is incredible.

   "It feels good to be able to rethink."

Cole rubbed his head and regained his sanity. The memories of so many years also appeared in his mind, all kinds of embarrassment and even the crazy shouts just now, all of which flashed in front of his eyes at this moment, and he smiled from time to time. , But then became sad again.

   "No, how is this possible, your sanity is already..."

Arthur couldn’t believe that, according to the test at the time, Cole had been eroded to the end of the second stage. Although he would not continue to be further alienated into a monster, his sanity was also completely shattered by the erosion, but now Cole is like a Talking to myself as normal.

  "It may be the reason why I was specialized in the Ranger, but everything related to monsters is full of doubts. Who really knows it?"

   Cole muttered to himself.

  "You may not believe it, Arthur, I seem to be having a very long dream during the years I have lost my mind.

  That's really a good dream..."

   Cole said, lowering his head in confusion. He looked at himself in the stagnant water, his pupils tightened slightly, and the young face in the memory overlapped with the old state, which made people feel a little frightened.

  At the end of his memory, he was still a young guy, but when he woke up again, he had become a rough old guy, as if someone had stolen his precious years while he was asleep.

  But this kind of confusion and sadness lasted not long. From Cole's own perception, he was still a young boy, but his mind was trapped in this old body.

  Everything seemed so fragmented, making his thoughts extremely confused.

   "The Armor of Original Sin... It looks like you succeeded."

   Cole raised his head and looked at the blue shadow fighting the monsters. Ten years ago, these things only existed on the blueprints, and the main force for the elimination of the mechanism was their group of rangers.

   "Yes, not only that, but our understanding of demons is getting deeper... We have seen the hope of eradicating demons. Although this hope is still slim, it is much better than in the previous era."

   Arthur replied, hoping that the news would make Cole feel better.

The rain of fire kept falling, and no one knew how long the scavengers would continue to baptize this land. The body of the demon fell in flames, and the soldiers squeezed their bodies into the shadow of the bunkers as much as possible. In fact, these bunkers are currently in the shadows. They couldn't resist the direct hits of these fire rains, they could only pray that the fireworks of God's punishment would not fall on themselves.

   Cole's heart surged, and he didn't need to ask him more to know what the situation is now. His emotions became extremely complicated, but at last he sighed helplessly.

At that time, he was eroded and corrupted due to the attack of the demon. The last thing in his memory was lying on the operating table, listening to the whispers of the doctors, and when he woke up again when he got his sanity back, what he faced was again This battlefield full of demons, as if two nightmares are connected together, spanning the years.

  After a brief period of grief, Cole stared in awe. Although his appearance was old, his heart was still young, and he was still on the battlefield.

   "Where is Merlin? I remember he was also taken to the Black Mountain Hospital with me. Is he still alive?"

   "Merlin? He has left... No, no, he is also in the hospital, but he is not Merlin anymore. William has a successor."

  It has been so many years, those people Cole knew either died or were sealed off and left the cleansing agency. For a while, Arthur thought he was referring to the current Merlin, but he quickly reacted.

   "Is he still alive?" Cole became anxious.

   "Yes, but like you, he has also been corroded, and now he can eat whatever he sees."

  Although it was ridiculous, Arthur couldn't help feeling sad when he thought of the way William used to be.

"where is he?"

   "What are you going to do?" Arthur asked.

"Intelligence! At that time we were cooperating with William in the experiment. I don't know what happened, but in the middle of the experiment, the demon broke out in the pump of perpetual motion. I don't know why, but William said he found the [truth]... You also know everything about the perpetual pump, but fortunately the damage did not spread."

   Cole began to move as he spoke, even though his body had begun to deform, he still had to perform the duties that had not yet been severed.

There was a major disaster in the Pump of Perpetual Motion more than ten years ago. When Merlin, who was appointed as William, was invaded by a demon during some kind of experiment, all the information was destroyed in the invasion. The person involved was like Cole William. Erosion became a lunatic.

   Therefore, in the follow-up investigation, it was like a god's hand fiddled with all of this. The cleansing agency could not find out anything, so the incident could only be sealed.

"I didn't know what happened at the time. The disaster broke out abruptly. Our external defense forces didn't encounter any enemies at all... As if the group of monsters appeared out of thin air in the pump of perpetual motion, William knew that it happened. What, if I can wake up, he might also wake up."

  Listening to Cole's words, Arthur's eyes quickly swept across the scorched battlefield.

  William, William, where are you?

  During this fierce battle, they had no spare capacity to protect these patients, and Arthur couldn't help shouting anxiously.

   "Did anyone see William?"

  Responded to him with the confused eyes. They didn't even know who William was. Even if they knew, in this case, who cares about a lunatic who sees something and eats something?

Arthur’s heart was a little lost for a while. There were many reasons why the Ranger plan was stopped. The Pump of Perpetual Motion was hit hard, and the current Merlin became a lunatic. One of the reasons, but the mystery of the incident was complicated. The cleansing agency concealed it.

  This feeling is terrible, terrible. Arthur seemed to touch the truth of the past, but then passed it...

   "He is in safe house number two!"

  Someone shouted at this moment of loss.

  Eve hid under the barrier built up by three generations of armor, and hacked and killed the approaching monsters with others. Upon hearing Arthur's roar, she shouted towards the other end of the rain curtain.

   "This guy doesn't know how to catch ghosts at all! I just knew to chew things, so I locked him in the safe house... Maybe... Maybe he just survived like this?"

Eve shouted, unlike the robins who knew the cruelty, Eve still couldn't accept the cruelty, so she finally ran back to rescue Arthur, and organized the patients to play ghost hunting. She just hoped that there would be more. Of people can survive.

  Listening to Eve’s call, Arthur took a deep look at her, then rushed into the research area without looking back, and shouted at the same time.

   "Kestrel, now the command is handed over to you!"

"Ah I?"

  Kestrel slashed a head of the demon. Although the explosion was mixed with the sound of wind and rain, Arthur's words still reached his ears clearly.

  How can I imagine that promotion and wealth are just today, this **** day, Kestrel is happy and sad.

  But there was no chance for them to question Arthur. When they looked at Arthur, he had disappeared behind the rain with the patients who had recovered their sanity.

  ...

There are also demons in the scientific research area, but due to the blockade, they could not spread. At first, after realizing that the lifting area could not be evacuated, Arthur planned to lead the team back to the scientific research area, but thought that he might be trapped inside by the demons. , Gave up this idea, after all, staying in the lifting area, they have enough vision to fight against the monsters with the original sin armor.

  In the dark, a group of people ran wildly. In fact, not many patients recovered their sanity due to erosion, but it is certain that they were all rangers.

   Demons, demons are everywhere.

  After emptying the aluminum thermal rifle, all Arthur could use was the pocket knife in his hand. Even after so long, the two of them still cooperated very well.

There is no room for them to escape in this narrow passage, and there is no retreat. They are like a cast iron spear, trying to penetrate everything all the way forward. Nothing can stop them, and when they When it stopped, it was also when the spear broke.

  "How is the development of the decontamination agency?"

  In the fight to move forward, Cole asked from time to time that he was very curious about this "future" world.

"It's not bad that the original sin armor has been developed to the third generation. Most of it is supported by machinery, not the flesh and blood of monsters. As long as it is given to us for a period of time, we can make a torrent of steel, and the monsters will steadily retreat under our fire. , The good times are coming soon."

   Arthur said loudly.

   "Our Rangers are already relics of the old age, although we may release light again... But we are no longer the protagonist, which is not bad, isn't it?"

  This is the inheritance of mankind, the change of history, the older generation will sleep forever, and the younger generation will go to the front of the stage.

  His vision was obscured by dirty blood. Arthur wiped his face vigorously, and the liquid mixed with blood and water was wiped off by him. It was unclear whether it was the blood of the demon or his own.

  His speed of swinging the knife appeared to be much slower. The head of the demon could be cut off with a single blow, but now he has to chop hard several times.

  Arthur is already tired.

In fact, he felt that he was going to die not long ago, but was rescued by the killed Eve. At that time, the feeling was actually quite amazing. The child he had been trying to protect was not known when he had grown up. Not only could she Protect herself, but also protect Arthur.

   "It's really good. That's her child. I didn't expect to grow up this way." Cole said.

   "Yeah, I didn't expect her to grow up safe and sound, of course it is not safe and sound, but at least she is still alive and full of vitality."

  Recalling the crimson figure, Arthur said helplessly and laughed, and then Cole laughed with him.

  The screams and roars continued. Their temporary action was simply death. The dim promenade was constantly shaking, and no one knew how many demons were spying on them in the shadow of the scientific research area.

  With the continuous deepening, the team has suffered casualties, except for those killed by demons, and those who have fallen behind.

  They are patients, patients who have been eroded and corrupted. Many years ago, doctors helped them to contain the spread of erosion, but today, many years later, they once again meet with demons.

  The long-standing erosion has increased again. Although it hasn't been said, everyone can feel it. The cold erosion is like invisible vines entwining them little by little.

  Some people seem to be able to foresee the coming of erosion. Before they completely alienated into demons, they stopped silently, and then rushed towards the demons that swarmed behind, and died as human beings.

  In this way, one after another left behind.

   "We're almost there... in front is the second safe house, I hope the door is closed tightly, otherwise William may have been gnawed clean."

   Arthur said lightly, he rarely did that.

  Running, Arthur stopped slowly, he was leaning against the wall and panting with a jackknife.

   "Are you okay?" Cole asked.

  The voice reverberated in the long space. Looking back, I don't know when they were the only ones left in the dim corridor.

   "There is safe house No. 2 ahead. Make sure William is safe, and then close it. The people outside attract demons, maybe so that he can survive."

   Arthur said weakly. He was already very tired. At the same time, there was a sound of rapid footsteps and the surging blood behind him again.

   "I need to take a break."

He coughed vigorously. Since the eruption of the monster wave, Arthur has maintained a high-intensity battle. The strength of the Ranger comes at a price, and he is no longer young. After these battles, his body is clothed. Full of wounds, the will was also bombarded by this heavy erosion.

Cole was silent. Of course he wouldn’t believe Arthur’s bullshit. The only result of resting in such a ghost place was torn to pieces by the monsters that followed. But he also knew that Arthur didn’t want to just admit defeat, he He didn't want to say that he couldn't run anymore. When he said it, he admitted that he had failed. He didn't want to admit defeat to things like monsters, so he insisted on it till now.

   "Ah... it didn't take long to wake up, but it feels terrible, Arthur."

   Cole said that he took Arthur's shoulders and dragged him forward.

"When I woke up and found that I had been crazy for so many years, I was lying in the hospital bed for the good years... It feels like the whole world has changed when I wake up, panic and confusion, not to mention that I found myself just after waking up. The erosion is constantly increasing.

  I just woke up and I was going to die again, which is too bad. "

  Cole said, looking at Arthur's blood-stained face, and then laughed.

   "Of course it is you who are worse. I woke up and found that my familiar friend had become a bad old man."

   "That's really sorry...Let go of me, Cole, to determine whether William is alive, and then come back to me." Arthur whispered.

  "But I am also very happy. When I wake up, the cleansing mechanism still exists and has not been destroyed by the monsters. Instead, I have a more comprehensive understanding of the monsters. This is really good, and you have not lost motivation due to aging."

  Cole didn't follow Arthur's words at all, and just said to himself.

"Actually, I was quite scared just now. After all, William is mad. In this case, no one knows whether he is alive or not. At this time, he chooses to find him, risking death for the information that may not be available... I am scared. You would reject this proposal, but you still moved, came to him with me, and never thought about the consequences of whether you would die, right?"

   "It's great, Arthur, time hasn't made you timid, but it has made you braver."

   "Are you telling the last words?"

   Arthur raised a bit of strength and asked.

  This is a very suitable situation for telling last words, just like a tragic hero,

   Arthur staggered, and his consciousness became chaotic. He felt that the long corridor under his feet was so long, almost endless, and the safe house No. 2 that the two wanted to reach was like an unreachable holy place.

   "Well, after all, I have been eroded, and it is only a matter of time before the distance becomes a monster."

Perhaps due to erosion and alienation, Cole is full of power at the moment, Arthur is dragged by him like a cargo, and the other deformed hand is firmly holding the folding knife, and will welcome the demons at will. Hack and kill.

  "Arthur, listen to me. During the period of time when I was corroded, when I was alive like a walking dead, ignorantly...I don't know how to describe...I...I seem to be trapped in one place."

   Cole shouted loudly. He didn't know how much Arthur could hear, so he could only raise the volume as much as possible.

  Mankind knows too little about demons, and because of the erosion, a lot of knowledge is difficult to be continued. Everyone can die, but the precious information must be passed down before death.

  This is an unknowable world, and they are seekers who fear death.

"What did you say?"

   Arthur turned his head slightly, and when he heard Cole's words, he gritted his teeth and became sober.

  Looking at Cole who was suddenly excited, an unspeakable force emerged in his body, and the burnt ashes ignited a flickering flame again after many years.

  "Remember what William said? Their alchemists believe that there is a place called [Gap] at the end of darkness and the end of human consciousness.

Over the past few years, I seem to be trapped in the place called [Gap]. I cannot feel hunger or exhaustion, nor will I die or be injured. I am trapped in a scene I have seen in my memory. Among them, no matter which direction it is heading, there is no end to it.

  It's like..."

   "The border, the border of hell."

   Arthur said slowly, listening to Cole's words, his thoughts were also sluggish for a while, as if there was no longer any fear at all.

  This is what the "Gospels" once said that there is an excessive area between the world of the living and the world of the dead, which is called the border of hell.

  I don’t know if it was a coincidence or something. Looking back on these crazy years, Cole felt that he had been wandering around a place similar to the border of hell, or a place called [Gap].

   "Probably that's the case. I don't know what's going on. But in order to eliminate the agency's regulations, as long as there are suspicious places, you have to report it, right?"

   Cole's voice blurred, and Arthur looked at his face, the cyan blood vessels bulging under it, hideous and terrifying.

"You need to live, Arthur, only you know this. You need to pass on these precious information. Even if you want to die, you must wait to tell the latecomers about these things before you die. And I...I should be left behind here. "

Cole let go of Arthur and threw him to the cold and firm ground. Arthur didn’t have time to say anything, and Cole left. He stood up with a jackknife, but only around him was left. The sound of footsteps that keeps going away.

  Arthur wanted to scold Cole very much. He had no extra energy to fight, but Cole left himself in this place. Arthur didn't know if he could walk to the second safe house.

  He tried to take a step, but his tired body was no longer able to move forward, and great despair shrouded him, but then Arthur seemed to have discovered something, he raised his head, and the huge iron gate was close at hand.

  (End of this chapter)