Endless Debt

Geoffrey knew very well that facing the Calamity alone meant no chance of survival, but he just needed to stop it for a few seconds to give Bologue a chance to escape.

Amidst the surge of Ether, Geoffrey's fear also reached its peak. It was the first time since the secret war seven years ago that he felt such terrifying fear.

Confronting this ancient and dreadful existence, even his sharp mind fell into a stalemate.

His gaze swept across, and all the scarlet limbs within view were firmly restrained, but such restraint didn't last long. There were too many of them—the figure trembled slightly, about to break free from the stillness.

Geoffrey's Secret Energy had never been good at dealing with large-scale battles, but rather, it excelled in one-on-one combat. That's why he always partnered with Lebius—Geoffrey restrained the target, and Lebius delivered the fatal strike.

"You saw it too, didn't you? Lebius."

Geoffrey muttered in a low voice. The Blade-Biting Wolf beside him was under Lebius's control.

In action, the two always moved together. Even though they were briefly separated this time, Lebius still sent a Blade-Biting Wolf to follow him.

Geoffrey began to feel grateful for the separation; otherwise, there would be another dead person here.

Were Lebius to die as well, the unfortunate Special Operations Group would most likely dissolve.

There was no response to Geoffrey's words. The blades all over the Blade-Biting Wolf's body slightly lifted, vibrating with an ear-piercing hum.

The stagnant state didn't last long as the limbs broke free one by one, crashing down towards Geoffrey. There was nothing crafty about it, no technique to speak of—just the instinctual attack of a beast, but such an attack easily snapped the Long Bridge. Amidst the spreading dust, Geoffrey swiftly moved, firing back.

Bursts of gunfire erupted, piercing bloody holes through the limbs. Scarlet threads surged from all around, but were cut down entirely by the Bone-breaking Knife.

This was Geoffrey's first encounter with the Calamity... Of course, unless someone was insane, even a Seeker of Glory would never approach the Calamity voluntarily.

Geoffrey couldn't help but smile as if comforting himself, muttering.

"There aren't many chances to clash with the Calamity."

The bridge beneath his feet completely collapsed amid the writhing flesh. Geoffrey swung a grappling hook, sweeping to one side, followed by countless scarlet hues.

Geoffrey knew little about the Calamity, at least not much about the one lurking beneath the Great Rift. From the moment Geoffrey knew of this Calamity's existence, it was under the watch of the Abyss Watcher, trapped in an almost eternal slumber.

As for how to fight it, Geoffrey had no idea; he could only rely on his combat experience to seek a chance for survival amidst its onslaught.

Palmer and Bologue hurriedly fled. Even without looking back, they could sense the terrifying Ethereal Fluctuation.

"Are we abandoning Geoffrey?"

Palmer shouted to Bologue. If the two of them left like this, Geoffrey might really die here, but soon Palmer realized that even if they went back, what could they do—die alongside Geoffrey?

"For now, yes." Bologue's voice was cold and merciless.

He didn't know what the situation was now, but judging from Geoffrey's reactions, this was definitely the key to everything.

Aimou seemed a bit disheartened. She didn't know Geoffrey well, but from their reactions, Geoffrey was their friend, and now their friend was about to die.

Bologue suddenly stopped in his tracks. They were already considered to have escaped to a safe zone. Though they didn't know where to run next, at least they weren't going to die for the moment.

"My reason tells me we should watch Geoffrey die and then I would rationally proceed, until one day I gain the necessary power, then return to slay this monster."

Bologue's voice was suppressed with anger. He turned to look at Palmer, and Palmer couldn't meet his sharp gaze.

"Palmer, you're a lucky guy, and pretty good at escaping. You can take it and leave, right?"

Bologue said as he raised the container.

"What are you... going to do?" Palmer's voice trembled slightly.

"I'm an Undead; when it comes to risking my life, I have more capital than anyone."

Bologue said lightly. He didn't know what the monster was, nor what would happen next. He only knew that Geoffrey couldn't die here.

Palmer swallowed hard, decisively taking the container and vowing, "Even if you die under the Great Rift, we'll dig you out."

Bologue was slightly dazed. He found the atmosphere a bit absurd; they were clearly heading for a terrifying unknown, yet when Palmer spoke, there was always a bit of a rogue feel to it.

Not bad though; in such a solemn atmosphere, a bit of levity is needed to ease the tension.

Bologue suddenly felt Palmer would make a great stand-up comedian. This guy always managed to make people laugh when he spoke. But if possible, Bologue would rather he say these things on a stage, not in such a deadly place.

"Aimou, your Shared Chord Body is on Palmer. Take him and leave."

Bologue continued, knowing this endeavor was fraught with danger. He wasn't sure what they would face, so having Aimou leave was the best choice.

After a few seconds of silence, Aimou's voice, tinged with some disdain, said.

"No, he looks too filthy."

Bologue's words came to a halt.

Seeing Bologue's expression, Palmer curiously asked, "What did she say?"

Perhaps due to his trust in the expert, knowing that Bologue was ready to turn the tide, Palmer felt no tension at all.

"You don't want me to drive you out, right?" Bologue said.

"You are Undead; as long as I don't sever the Shared Chord Body, even if you die, I won't be affected."

Aimou explained her reasoning.

"Admit it, Bologue, you need me. Otherwise, if you go, it would just be a suicide mission... No, you want to go on a suicide mission, but if you die within a minute, you can't save anyone; you need... to die a bit slower."

The golden halo solidified, as firm as Aimou's resolve.

"I can help you."

Bologue repeatedly took deep breaths, mimicking Palmer, speaking lightly.

"You're not even of age; for something so life-threatening, you need your guardian's consent, right?"

Despite saying this, Bologue had already turned around, running towards Geoffrey.

"My guardian was just chasing you, and... I'm not human, so those rules about being a minor don't apply to me, right?"

Aimou learned quickly; she was already adept at speaking nonsensical things and conversed fluently with Bologue.

Bologue couldn't help but shake his head, unsure whether he was setting a bad example for the child, even less certain what kind of adult Aimou would become.

But Bologue could clearly sense a peculiar emotion rising within him, thinking that when Adelle watched him grow, she felt the same as he did now.

The Long Bridge was massive, almost spanning the entire dark underground space, yet under the attack of the Calamity, it continuously collapsed, leaving only a few scattered broken bridge piers, standing lonely in the darkness.

Geoffrey retreated to a position that hadn't collapsed; this environment was unsuitable for his combat, yet another scarlet limb curled up, smashing towards him, but under the Bone-breaking Knife's slice, the tough flesh crumbled.

Geoffrey found it hard to describe the form of the Calamity, as it was so immense, and what he saw now was just a small part of its grand body.

Its true main body was hidden underneath the deep Great Rift, and what came to attack him was merely a tentacle reaching along the Long Bridge.

But even this single tentacle, as the battle progressed, continuously split and mutated, resembling a mass that could adapt to the environment, constantly self-correct and evolve.

One by one, scarlet eyes opened on the coiled tentacle, looking no different from the decayed root buds at first glance, but Geoffrey knew, unlike the Devil's product of decay, which acted solely based on instinct and was unaware, the Calamity had consciousness.

Not just consciousness, but a mind akin to, if not surpassing, that of a human, and the biggest difference was, the Calamity could control Ether.

Every strike of the tentacle carried an Ether impact, knocking Geoffrey around like a pinball, yet his gaze was no longer filled with fear, instead, he noticed something peculiar.

Something... felt off.

After engaging in combat, the fear towards the Calamity gradually waned, turning into suspicion, the terrifying monster wasn't as mighty as imagined, at least not to Geoffrey.

Geoffrey knew well the power of the Calamity; he shouldn't have been able to withstand more than a few rounds, yet now the battle slowly became evenly matched.

"Have you contacted the Abyss Watchers?"

Geoffrey's voice roared within the Heart Core Net.

The awakening of the Calamity had no sign, suggesting another possibility—that the Abyss Watchers responsible for monitoring might have been killed by it before they could warn anyone.

Geoffrey knew well what kind of people could be Abyss Watchers, more so when some of them were Defenders.

All sorts of suspicions filled Geoffrey with intense unease, and then another voice sounded in the Heart Core Net.

"This is the Desperate Outpost."

The voice was low and calm, speaking with absolute certainty.

"According to the reports from Group Four and the Abyss Watchers, the Calamity is still in slumber, and the Serenity Defense Line remains intact. Report complete."

Hearing this response, silence filled the Heart Core Net, and Geoffrey's heart grew cold.

He recognized the voice in his mind and absolutely trusted his words.

If the Calamity was still in slumber, then what was he facing right now.