Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Guard Andrei quickly rubbed his hands together, then swiftly scraped the ice shards off his beard before placing his hands on the heating pipe.

Once his hands had completely warmed up, the guard Andrei placed them on his face to warm his already frozen face.

The guard, Andrei, seemed to have recovered by then, and said, "Spare me, let me warm up and catch my breath. Besides, it's just a few steps, but it's like two completely different worlds..."

Meanwhile, Natasha and Constantine had already taken the opportunity to sneak into the building.

In the empty, makeshift elevator, Natasha asked curiously, "You can actually control other people? Did you use this trick to get Coulson and the others to leave last time?"

"You'll learn that later too, but it's basically useless. It won't work against enemies with strong wills or gods..."

Gods? Natasha heard a new name again. Perhaps there are gods in this world, or perhaps the mages once fought against the gods?

But Natasha knew that wasn't the time to ask; the immediate goal was to find Alexei.

The elevator doors opened, and a squad of armed guards stood watch cautiously, their guns pointed at the elevator entrance, completely unaware that two people were swaggering past them.

"False alarm, this elevator needs repair."

Along the spiral tunnel, Constantine used charm to subdue the guards, opening iron gates for them and then making them return to their original positions.

All the way down to the lowest level of the prison, Constantine encountered no obstacles using this method. There weren't even vibration sensors installed in the prison.

At the very bottom of the prison mine, the prisoners were just getting up to eat breakfast.

The prisoners lined up, holding stainless steel trays and plastic spoons, waiting for a spoonful of mushy food next to the kitchen.

Here, there is a unique guy who is always there. Every prisoner who finishes getting his meal will take a spoonful from their tray and give him a spoonful.

Although one person doesn't have much food, little by little, his tray quickly filled up.

He kept eating, spooning food into his mouth, and kept talking: "If it weren't for him, I would have gotten the nuclear briefcase long ago, and the world would be welcoming the Red Guards..."

This man was Natasha's target—Alexei, her former adoptive father. Although they only spent a few short years together, the warmth of that family remained in Natasha's heart.

Walking up to Alexei, Natasha whispered in his ear, "Alexei, you need to go to a secluded place so I can take you out!"

Upon hearing the words, Alexei began to sob. This burly man, nearly 1.9 meters tall, covered his face and began to slowly recount his sorrowful words.

"I heard my daughter's voice again. She must be a great killer with blood on her hands now! Or a vicious woman? Or a secret agent infiltrating the world of capitalism..."

"Oh my god, I must be starving to be able to hear Natasha... Wait? If I wait a little longer, will I be able to hear Yelena or Melina?"

At this point, Alexei's right hand, which was holding the spoon, stopped at his mouth, swaying between food and auditory hallucinations.

Seeing Alexei like this, Natasha could imagine what Constantine, watching this scene from behind, must be thinking: smoking a cigarette, a knowing smile on his face as he scrutinizes the clown, before flicking away his cigarette butt.

"Damn it, who threw a cigarette butt like that this morning! It flicked into my back! Was it you, Vladimir! It must be you, I've been wanting to get back at you for ages!"

Natasha covered her head, listening to the commotion on the other side of the restaurant. She never expected Constantine could flick his cigarette butt so far.

Helpless, Natasha could only lean closer to Alexei and continue, "It's me, Natasha. I'm here to rescue you. You need to find a blind spot with no surveillance cameras or people before I can take you out!"

After saying that, Natasha slapped Alexei hard on the shoulder.

The crisp sound of a slap striking flesh, along with Alexei's unconscious movements, attracted the attention of the diners around him.

Putting down his spoon, Alexei pretended nothing had happened, scratched his shoulder, and said, "There are mosquitoes in Siberia! Is global warming that serious?!"

After saying that, Alexei cautiously turned his head and whispered to the empty space beside him, "Is it really you, Natasha?"

With a sharp crack, Alexei's face slapped.

Touching his face and feeling the pain, Alexei realized that this was not a dream.

"Damn it! I'm not eating! There are so many mosquitoes in Siberia, the Arctic is melting! How can I possibly have the appetite to eat!"

After saying that, Alexei threw down the spoon in his hand, turned around and left the restaurant.

Along the way, Alexei searched for secluded places, constantly tilting his head, trying to talk to Natasha 'beside' him.

"Oh, I never expected you to come and save me! My daughter!"

"We successfully completed our mission in Ohio! Oh, and your sister Yelena has become the greatest child killer. Your ledgers must be dripping with blood! I'm so proud of you!"

Natasha, following behind Alexei, resisted the urge to look at his foolish expression; Constantine must be laughing his head off right now.

"Damn it, who threw that cigarette butt in my xx?!"

## Bonus Chapter 2: The Story of the Deep Cathedral and April Summary

In the deep cathedral, Ash was painstakingly using his bow and arrow to ambush and kill the giant slaves in the cesspool, and then, pinching his nose, he searched for the items left behind by the giants under their bodies.

"Okay, shit blocks, shit blocks, more shit blocks. Giant slaves are just manure-producing machines, aren't they? All they know how to do is play with this kind of stuff!"

Despite feeling nauseous, Ash still put the turd in his backpack. After all, in his memory, he could use the turd to kill a powerful enemy later, so he was saving some to avoid having to give the maid the turd-containing ashes.

As he climbed up the building next to the giant, Ash carefully dodged the two church knights at the entrance to the Deep Archbishopric, as he was currently no match for them in a direct confrontation.

Crouching low and crouching, Ash carefully circled around to the left and behind the rows of benches, expertly stabbing the undead on the benches one by one with his dagger.

"Next up are you. Take this righteous backstab!"

The dagger pierced through the gaps in the church knight's armor, going straight through his inner armor. Ash even thoughtfully twisted the dagger to try and inflict more damage.

With one foot planted on the Cathedral Knight, Ash pulled the dagger from the Knight's body like pulling up a radish, before raising the Lothric Knight's sword and shield to face another Cathedral Knight.

"Come on, this is a one-on-one fight between Zheng Yi and Zheng Yi, it's a fair battle! Holy crap, you attacked me from behind!"

After deflecting a fireball with his Lothric Knight shield, Ash realized he had forgotten that on the steps in front of the Cathedral Knight, there was a Deep Follower who was raising his candlestick to attack him.

"Since you're resorting to sneak attacks and lack any sense of martial ethics, then I won't hold back either!"

Pointing at the Deep One who was preparing to raise his candlestick again to launch a fireball, Ash took out the Firebomb of Justice and threw it at him.

The fire elemental explosion knocked the Deep Follower away, leaving him hanging on the stone statue where he prayed, becoming part of it.

"Boom~"

The Cathedral Knight's greatsword struck the Lothric Knight's shield, causing Ash's body to lurch downwards and his legs to buckle slightly to cushion the impact.

"If this one is this difficult to deal with, what about the two at the entrance of the Demon King's courtyard? They'll surely kill me!"

Despite complaining about the Church Knight's immense strength, Ash still skillfully slashed at him with the Lothric Knight's sword.

The relentless attacks and rolls made it impossible for the Cathedral Knight to catch Ash's figure; he could only lose his life while circling around.

"Yay! Another enemy taken down. Let's see where to go next!"

Ash did not enter the room of the Deep Archbishops, but instead walked into another room with ease and pulled the lever of the elevator.

This is the passageway connecting the Deep Secluded Church and the Cleansing Chapel; the elevator route creates a hidden intersection between the two areas.

Pushing open the back door of the small chapel of cleansing, Ash immediately saw Gale squatting beside the altar, praying.

"You haven't left yet? Aren't you going to take care of the young lady?"

"Oh, ashes without fire, if you were ashes, you would surely crave flame, wouldn't you...?"

Ash walked around Gale, avoiding any unnecessary contact with the old man who was pretending to be weak.

"I've already told you, I have absolutely no ability to go to Ariandel's painting world right now! Don't you have any idea what my abilities are?"

Gale kept rubbing the fragment belonging to Ariandel's painting world in his hand, carefully protecting it in his palm.

"Ah, I think so too. If you are ashes and still yearn for fire, then grant my request. There is a cold country called Ariandel, where our young lady lives. She wants to ask you to let her see fire—a special fire that burns away decay. Besides, it wouldn't be a bad thing for you, would it..."

Ash waved his hand and said, "I know, I know. I'll say it every time I come. I can recite your lines by heart. Like I said, I'll go after I'm stronger..."

However, when Ash reached the entrance of the Cleansing Church, he stopped in his tracks, because there was an empty well on the right side of the entrance, and at that moment, cries for help were coming from the bottom of the well.

"Hello! Hello! Is anyone there? Is anyone home?"

The long, drawn-out sound belonged to Jack Baldo of Catarina, who was calling out from the bottom of the well, waiting for someone to take him out.

However, Ash did not respond to the voice; he was still considering whether to leave Onion Knight there.

Could a small well really trap the most iconic knight of Catarina? Could it really trap a warrior who is a friend of the Lord of Cinder?

This well is Onion Knight himself; he trapped himself in it, much like the iron gates of the prison in the City of Sin later became a shackle on Jack Baldo's mind regarding whether or not he would fulfill his oath.

"Hey—! I smell something! It's you, Ash! I smell the Elemental Soup! How lucky to meet you here!"

With a sigh, Ash looked at the elemental soup he had bottled up, reluctant to drink it, and walked to the well.

"Brother Cong, do you want me to pull you up?"

"Oh! That voice, it's you! Long time no see! It's me, Jack Baldo of Catarina. It's quite embarrassing to admit, but I've been betrayed. My armor has been stolen. Have you seen my armor?"

"not yet……"

Ash had never seen it before, but he knew that the armor was currently on Patch's body, and that Patch was waiting for him on the other side of the Cathedral of the Deep.

"Oh, is that so... I have no choice. My friend, please deliver my armor to me when you see it, so I can take this opportunity to think things over..."

As he spoke, snoring came from the bottom of the well; the Onion Knight had fallen asleep sitting up.

After patting the stones at the well's opening, as if patting the Onion Knight at the bottom of the well, Ash still embarked on his journey.

Once back on the elevator, Ash arrived at the other side of the Cathedral of the Deep, a side passage leading to the back of the cathedral's main entrance.

Pushing open the door and taking this shortcut that might never be used again, Ash walked towards the viewing platform from the right side of the door.

As he descended the stairs, Ash immediately spotted the armor that Onion Knight had mentioned he'd accidentally lost. It was currently being worn by someone else, standing beside a set of stairs.

“Oh, so you're still a normal person after all. I'm a knight of Catarina, and I finally managed to find the treasury of this church. The treasury is at the end of that narrow path. But how do I get there? That's why I'm stuck here. Hmm… hmm…”

Hearing this, Ash shook his head inwardly. Patch still couldn't imitate it well. Onion Knight would only unconsciously make "hmm" sounds at the beginning of each paragraph.

Ignoring Patch, Ash walked directly to the side of the elevator stairs and looked down.

The construction of the Cathedral of the Deep differs somewhat from what we see in the game. For example, right now, Ash can't see the environment below at all. It's a platform that extends out as a whole, obscuring the giant slaves below.

This means that when Patch stood here before, he could only see the altar opposite him and couldn't see anything below.

Ash's eagerness played right into Patch's trap. Patch stood by the lever, waiting for Ash to step into the trap and be killed by the giant slaves below, so he could go down and collect the equipment Ash had left behind.

However, Ash simply stood at the entrance to the passage, motionless. Just standing there quietly.

Patch, unable to wait any longer, finally couldn't resist. He quietly walked behind Ash, raised his foot, and prepared to kick Ash down.

However, Ash seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and reacted in an instant. He turned to the side, reached out and grabbed Patch's foot, and then gently pushed it forward.

Patch lost his balance and fell on the elevator stairs.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!! You despicable bastard! You did it, didn't you! How dare you live with yourself!"