Endless Debt

Aimou naturally had an escape plan; she came for this purpose. After a brief explanation to Bologue, she immediately dissolved the overlap of Heart Overlapping Shadow and separated herself from Bologue.

Upon detaching from Bologue’s body, Aimou’s form materialized, along with a steel cable extending from her lower spine.

"This might take a bit of time."

Aimou anxiously glanced in the direction the steel cable extended. It might be the dimensional interference between the two worlds affecting it, causing the cable’s materialization to be somewhat slow, temporarily not indicating the path’s direction.

"Alright, I understand."

Gaining time was not a problem for Bologue.

In the Ethereal Realm, there weren’t materials for Bologue to command, but there was an endless, pure supply of Ether.

While a Negative Power User, due to the restriction of Narrow and Sharp, Bologue couldn’t perfectly utilize this energy. But with his promotion to Defender, the expansion of his Alchemy Matrix made commanding pure Ether no longer a difficult task for Bologue.

Bologue attempted to shape them, like he often did, into knives, guns, swords, and halberds, mercilessly cleaving at all invading enemies, but then promptly abandoned this action.

Previously, he commanded steel and hardened earth, needing to mold them into the sharpest and most lethal forms for more efficiently harming the enemy.

But Ether is different. As pure energy itself, Ether is already the sharpest sword and the most solid shield. Shaping it is just a waste of time and effort; it only requires absolutely precise usage.

Concentration.

The Throat of the Abyss leaped between rifts. Though its body was not long, in the folded space, it twisted like a giant serpent.

The Mouth of Darkness fixated on Bologue, and the authority of Greed was also eager, with layers of tar-like waves crashing in. In the distance, the Devils watched and monitored the battle.

Bologue lowered his breath, adjusting his mindset. He recalled the Sixth Group, those Condensers of the Origin School, mastered in Ether manipulation. Perhaps he should learn a thing or two from them.

As for now, Bologue could only attempt to replicate this ability, mimicking based on memories of his interactions with them.

Concentration.

Complete focus.

The silhouette of the Throat of the Abyss rapidly closed in; with the Curved Pathway Rift, whether the distance was ten meters or a hundred meters, it all felt the same to it.

At this moment, it had only one pure and simple thought in mind—to completely consume Bologue. The Throat of the Abyss probably hadn’t realized that it attempted this decades ago, failed, and was counterattacked by King Solomon, leaving its wounds unhealed to this day.

The bloodthirsty aura grew closer. Aimou’s gaze flitted back and forth between Bologue, the Throat of the Abyss, and the steel cable, her heart tense and unsure of what was to come.

"Where will it come from?"

Bologue maintained an absolute state of concentration, using his remaining senses to monitor the Throat of the Abyss. It seemed to be boldly charging head-on, but Bologue knew full well that, with Curved Pathway Rifts everywhere, it could attack from Bologue’s blind spot at any moment.

Would it be a surprise attack from behind, an open confrontation, or leveraging the Curved Pathway Rift to launch simultaneous attacks from multiple directions?

His thoughts jumbled in his mind, and suddenly, Bologue understood.

When did I become this passive?

Passively waiting for the enemy’s attack.

No, no, I’m not that kind of person.

Bologue wouldn’t foolishly wait for the Throat of the Abyss to attack and then try to counter it. This time, he would go on the offensive, like a knight charging from the woods to shatter the enemy’s formation.

Without any warning, Bologue’s figure began to violently tremble, with multiple afterimages appearing at the edges of his outline. With a booming sonic boom, the ice beneath Bologue’s feet shattered, and his figure vanished at high speed.

The Throat of the Abyss halted its advance for a moment, losing track of Bologue, but quickly, its perception reconnected with Bologue’s ether reaction.

The intense ether reaction was close at hand.

Resentful gnashing entwined with raging flames, illuminating the pale skin of the Throat of the Abyss.

"Hello there!"

Bologue excitedly greeted the Throat of the Abyss. Although he didn’t have a Curved Pathway Rift, he still managed to reach its side in an instant with the speed of the Extreme Realm.

Time seemed to slow down; the Throat of the Abyss sensed a massive threat from Bologue. It tried to retract its body back into the Curved Pathway Rift, but at the same time, it saw the Blazing Fire Sword. Under the power of the Extreme Realm, the super-high speed of the sword dragged the flames, twisting into a blinding beam of light.

Just as it was on alert against the Light-Burning Sword, a wave of pain arrived belatedly.

Amidst Bologue’s chilling smile, the Vengeful Saw Axe in his other hand had already disappeared, leaving only a blood-soaked strap connecting his arm and hand axe like a hook. Meanwhile, the Bloodthirsty Axe, with its overlapping saw blades, had, after a brief flight, cleaved into the body of the Throat of the Abyss protruding from another rift.

The saw blades writhed and clamped down, as if thousands of piranhas were devouring its flesh, shredding chunks of muscle into mush, leaving only endless dirty blood trickling down.

This was not the end of Bologue’s assault; a thousand heavy ethers suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Under Bologue’s high concentration, he compressed the ether he commanded to the extreme point. Although Bologue couldn’t achieve the absolute suppression like a Constraint Force Field, under the endless ether and Bologue’s extreme suppression of Infinite Sharpness, he successfully compressed one by one to reach the point of collapse at the Ethereal Vortex Point.

Learning from practice, this was what Bologue gleaned from King Solomon’s vengeance and the Constraint Force Field. While rough and needing optimization, Bologue felt it was enough to resolve the current crisis.

Detonate.

A tumultuous pure white rapidly spread in all directions, enveloping everything in its absolutely pure light. It first stripped all things of their colors, leaving only pure white and fading gray-black. Then the endless cacophony of sounds, under its enormous power, all returned to silence.

The subsequent burst of high temperature obliterated all perception, bringing absolute death to everyone present.

Curved Pathway Rifts shattered one by one, tar evaporated completely, and even the Throat of the Abyss couldn’t emit a wail. At the touch of the light, most of its body was nearly scorched, and it fled desperately into the last unbroken Curved Pathway Rift, leaving only the ever-expanding pure white light in the entire Ethereal Realm.

Relying on the countless ethers within the Ethereal Realm, it easily stirred up a series of high-energy reactions, with deadly storms continuously spreading in all directions, seemingly endless.

The creator of this catastrophe, Bologue, before being obliterated into ashes by the chaotic ether, tightly embraced Aimou, following the guidance of the steel cable and passed through the passage.

Bologue and Aimou landed heavily on the high platform, the writhing passage being utterly torn apart by the high-energy reactions it triggered internally. As the passage collapsed, its implosion also triggered a series of reactions.

The iron chair nearby bent into a strange shape, and the ground beneath it evaporated into a large pit. The electrical fields resonating on the Constraint Spire exploded, and after the glaring flames, the once-straight Constraint Spire tilted, all facing the twisted gravity point.

Bologue lay on the ground, tightly holding Aimou’s head. Mamo promptly supplemented, fully releasing the power of the Seeker of Glory, the exalted ether stabilizing the situation, borrowing the broken Constraint Force Field, and completely cutting off the energy supply.

Following a deep hum, the Constraint Force Field stalled, thus interrupting the path to the Ethereal Realm.

Mamo, panting heavily, sat shakily on the ground. For someone his age, such events proved to be a bit too thrilling.

Turning to Bologue, Mamo was about to inquire about what had happened within the Ethereal Realm, only to see Bologue stand up, leaning on his sword, with irrepressible joy on his blood-streaked face.

"I found the truth, Mamo."

"What?"

"I said, I found the truth of the Secret Source."

Bologue’s body lost balance, tumbling before Mamo, but the near-mad joy on his face did not diminish in the slightest. He placed his hand on Mamo’s shoulder, speaking excitedly.

"This time, we will unite everyone."