Endless Debt

Accompanied by Bologue’s consciousness ascending into the Ethereal Realm, a series of chaotic visions frequently appeared on the high platform.

Black waves, pure white storms, terrifying oddities, and endless wails... Layers upon layers of bizarre illusions emerged and overlapped like a mirage.

They seemed to be what Bologue saw in his "dream," reflected into the Material Realm by numerous factors.

In previous experiments, such a situation had never occurred, and Mamo was unsure what was happening inside. He had tried to awaken Bologue, but Bologue seemed "lost," with no reaction whatsoever.

Before this problem could be solved, a new issue arose once again.

Bologue’s will seemed to be undergoing a tremendous trial in the Ethereal Realm, and this influence was mirrored onto Bologue’s physical shell in the Material Realm.

The instruments indicated that various bodily indicators of Bologue had reached the dangerous red zone.

According to Mamo’s experience, when an ordinary person’s physical indices turned like this, they would be no different from a corpse, yet as an Undead, Bologue’s chest still heaved violently.

"What is going on?"

Mamo tried to figure out what was happening. Only then did he realize that he didn’t have a mature means to observe the Ethereal Realm.

Above the iron chair, the "gate" twisted out by the Constraint Force Field.

Blinding intense light flickered within the irregular vortex, resembling a small sun. From its interior, Mamo could sense terrifying Ethereal Fluctuations, as if the entire Ethereal Realm was agitated, with the Ether within surging like a tsunami.

"Are you just too unlucky, Bologue?"

At such a time, even if he couldn’t see what was happening within the Ethereal Realm, Mamo could perceive from the turbulent energy level that some deadly events were unfolding inside the Ethereal Realm.

No time to lament Bologue’s turbulent fate, he had to think of countermeasures.

Interrupting the ritual was certainly not an option. If he did so, Bologue’s consciousness would truly become lost in the Ethereal Realm, leaving behind only an undying body.

Mamo considered what use an undying body would be; the Order Bureau had many such guinea pigs, and they didn’t lack one more.

In the crisis, Aimou suddenly placed her hand on Bologue. She exchanged a glance with Mamo, the glow of the Alchemy Matrix lighting up in her eyes, then Aimou’s hand overlapped with Bologue’s body.

Crossing time and space, seeing what he saw.

In an instant, Aimou witnessed countless mirages, scenes she had never seen or could imagine. At one point, she doubted if this was some kind of bizarre illusion, but the clear feedback from Bologue’s consciousness told her it was not false, but absolute reality.

Aimou tried to probe Bologue’s ordeal, but this time the Heart Overlapping Shadow connection spanned across two realms, and the connection was unstable. Moreover, Aimou only partially overlapped, and after barely persisting for a few seconds, her hand detached from Bologue’s body, breaking the connection.

She stood dazed for a few seconds, rapidly constructing a series of response plans in her mind.

"Bologue needs help!"

Aimou said this first, then turned her head and shouted to the Furyas, "Bring his weapon here!"

Furya didn’t ask Aimou for an explanation but directly followed her instructions. The two Furyas disappeared from the scene, reappearing seconds later with a blade and a hand axe.

"Arm him!"

While directing Furya, Aimou also took off her coat, her body transforming into steel.

"What are you going to do?"

Mamo felt he asked a foolish question; Aimou’s actions could not be clearer.

"Send his flesh and his weapon into the Ethereal Realm; only then can he fight within the Ethereal Realm," Aimou said.

Mamo paused, looking nervously at the twisted gate, unable to imagine the kind of battle awaiting Bologue within the Ethereal Realm.

"How will you come back?" Mamo continued to ask.

"Rely on me."

Aimou said as her body extended a rope hook, tightly fastening it to the iron chair.

For the majority of the time, Aimou went on missions with Bologue, relying on Bologue’s high lethality, there was almost no occasion requiring Aimou to directly engage in combat.

But this didn’t mean Aimou lacked combat capabilities. Unknown to many, Aimou had long since armed her body in numerous ways, something Bologue deeply experienced during the Time Reversal.

"Is this considered a gamble?"

Mamo couldn’t help but ask, but before Aimou could respond, he murmured, "How can an experiment not have risks?"

He suddenly looked up, his murky eyes reflecting Aimou’s face clearly, "Do what you must."

Aimou nodded vigorously, turning to release the shackles on Bologue one by one, overlapping with Bologue. Mamo, like a bent worker ant, effortlessly lifted the robust Bologue high.

"Sometimes, the most complex experiments only require the simplest methods of operation."

Mamo took a deep breath, silently praying inside, then heaved Bologue forcefully towards the twisted gate within the Constraint Force Field.

He felt as though he had thrown Bologue into a meat grinder.

After a burst of current and blinding light, Bologue’s body vanished, leaving only the continuously spinning gate and the hateful agitation emanating from beyond it.

Mamo took a deep breath, slowly retreating. Just when he began to feel a bit weary, his calf hit something, causing him to fall down completely.

He didn’t fall, but instead sat steadily on a chair, turning his head to see the Furyas had somehow brought over a chair, apparently accompanying Bologue’s weapon.

Seeing this scene, Mamo’s tension suddenly eased considerably, and he even laughed at it, though for someone of his age, his laughter wasn’t particularly pleasant.

"I never imagined you were so adorable when you were young," Mamo said.

"Hmm?"

"Are you referring to the Furyas?"

The Furyas exchanged glances; many staff members had used "adorable" to describe the Furyas, and such compliments had become commonplace for them. However, it was the first time they heard it from Mamo, and they noticed a key point in his words.

When they were young?

"Sort of," Mamo felt an inexplicable sense of old age, "It’s you, and yet not you."

...

"Aimou?"

Bologue listened to the voice suddenly ringing in his mind, and many things became clear in an instant. Immediately, he gripped the grudge and severed the extending umbilical cord with a single slash.

The umbilical cord broke in mid-air, blood splattering, but then it froze in mid-air, as if time was reversing, attempting to heal back together.

A regular slash was not enough to completely sever the umbilical cord.

Momentarily freed from the constraints of the cord, Bologue turned his head and ran with the entanglement, "You shouldn’t have come here!"

"So should I leave?"

Aimou responded unceremoniously, "I came here risking my life to save you, and instead of bowing and thanking me, you’re saying this!"

Bologue was momentarily at a loss for words, his voice turned sheepish, "I’m used to it."

Aimou retorted, "Used to saving others, but not used to being saved?"

As an Undead, Bologue did not need others’ salvation, so being saved by others was indeed somewhat foreign to him.

"So, get used to it!"

Aimou said, releasing Ether, merging body and consciousness, and Bologue felt as though his spirit was filled with some intangible thing, bringing an indescribable sense of security.

The weapon held in both hands provided Bologue with the strength to counterattack.

A Curved Pathway Rift cracked open on one side, and as the space shattered, the pale figure of the Throat of the Abyss appeared, its bloated body awkwardly crawling on the ice, lunging towards Bologue.

"Damn it!"

Aimou exclaimed, after bantering with Bologue, she only then paid attention to their surroundings.

The Ethereal Realm seemed to be plunged into chaos, Ether chaotically spread, blindly rampaging, the ghostly blue hue gradually dimming, with a red afterglow emerging in the deep colors, as if the whole world was about to be engulfed in endless flames.

"Do you have any ideas?" Aimou shouted.

From behind came the increasingly intense sounds of explosions, storms constantly launching meteor showers, but no matter how much it bombarded, the pitch-black tar still surged from the destruction, like the descending night.

Nothing could stop the advent of the shadows.

"There!"

Bologue raised the grudge, pointing straight towards the dazzling light source ahead.

"Charge into the storm!"

He shouted, leaping with all his might, and the overlap of body, mind, and spirit once again endowed Bologue with the power to command Ether.

Under Ethereal Amplification, Bologue jumped several meters high, thereby dodging the Throat of the Abyss’s fierce lunge.

The deformed monster crashed onto the ice, countless arms erratically scratching at the ground, but due to its inertia, it still slid several meters away.

It didn’t give up its pursuit of Bologue, the Throat of the Abyss could sniff out the familiar scent emanating from Bologue.

Many years ago, the Throat of the Abyss had already tried to devour him.

The fateful encounter made the Throat of the Abyss emit a series of shrill howls, and the twisted human figures hanging on it chorused together, opening its pitch-black mouth, directing the darkness towards Bologue.

In an instant, a terrifying suction was released from the Mouth of Darkness, causing Bologue to stumble a few steps, then his entire body was lifted off the ground by this suction.

"Damn it!"

Bologue cursed, stabbing out with the grudge, the blade firmly embedding itself into the ice, stabilizing Bologue’s form to a certain extent, he turned his head to look back, only to see a void of darkness.

"Get lost!"

Bologue roared, summoning the thousands of Ethers.

The Ethereal Realm responded to Bologue, countless Ethers rushed forward under the Power of Command, engulfing the Throat of the Abyss like a mighty wave, executing Bologue’s command.

Repel.

A noise surpassed the limits of human hearing echoed, as if a Heavy Hammer capable of shattering mountains had descended in the absolute silence, forcibly shaking the Throat of the Abyss’s body, pushing it back with brute force.

The eerie suction was interrupted, Bologue regained control over his body, scarlet blood trickling from his nostrils.