Endless Debt

Returning to the ward, Palmer recounted all the events of the past half month to Bologue.

"First was the raid on the venue. The operation was a success, not only did we thwart the Crimson Sect's conspiracy, hunted down a Crimson Bishop, but also captured a Negative Power User among the King's Shield Guards, who is now under thorough interrogation by the Order Bureau.

As for the Gray Trade Association, those guys fled fast. As soon as the incident happened, everyone disappeared as if they had evaporated overnight in the Great Rift."

These merchants vanished not just quickly; when the battle erupted inside the venue, they were already gone, leaving these greedy guests to keep fighting among themselves endlessly.

Seeing Palmer's puzzled expression, Bologue was well aware of the inside story.

That place was the Tyrant's domain, and as a believer of the Tyrant, the Tyrant opened a back door for them, making it extremely convenient for their departure.

Looking back now, the auction seemed to be a setup done by the Order Bureau on the surface, but Bologue always felt it was more like a scheme orchestrated by the Tyrant, who drew everyone into it, unnoticed by them all.

Palmer thought for a moment and continued speaking.

"Recently, the Sixth Group took over our work, but during this time, they haven't found anything unusual inside the Great Rift... It seems this incident has ended."

Bologue listened to Palmer and occasionally nodded in agreement, but at the end, Bologue softly said,

"No, not all matters are over."

"Yes, when one wave settles, another arises."

Palmer stretched lazily, yawned greatly, paused for a few seconds, and then continued speaking.

"The following events happened after you fell into the Great Rift."

About the other participants of the operation Palmer wasn't familiar with, but their elite duo took heavy hits; not to mention the plaster cast on his own body, just Bologue's underground journey, returning alive, was a miracle.

"After confirming Teda is a Delusional, the Sixth Group immediately launched a manhunt... Actually, his identity isn't the crucial part; the most important thing is the Immortal Heart Teda was carrying."

Palmer was midway in saying this, abruptly interrupted by Bologue, who asked, "Do you know what the Immortal Heart truly is?"

Being queried on the Immortal Heart, Palmer fell silent.

In the whole operation, they both chased the Immortal Heart all along, battling batches of monsters for several rounds because of that damned thing, thinking victory was within grasp, eventually it was intercepted by the Delusional.

Upon recalling this, Palmer felt frustrated; as a fierce bandit, he was robbed of his belongings by someone else, no matter what, he needed to find a way to snatch it back.

"The Immortal Heart?"

Palmer hesitated, but he still spoke.

"I got this from Geoffrey; he said it's... the Calamity's heart."

The expected answer.

Bologue leaned against the wall behind him, a tangle of thoughts in his mind, now thoroughly unraveled.

This explained why the Order Bureau resisted the Crimson Sect, as the Calamity beneath the Great Rift seemed to belong to the Crimson Queen, and once it contacted the Immortal Heart, perhaps the Calamity would instantly awaken.

"You're aware of the Calamity's existence?" Seeing Bologue's calm reaction, Palmer was instead surprised.

"Don't underestimate an expert's knowledge reserve."

Bologue confidently tapped his own head, then asked, "Anything else?"

"The Sixth Group raided Teda's Alchemy Workshop, and that Alchemy Workshop... vanished?"

"Vanished? What do you mean?"

"Literally vanished; this seems to be the power of the Void Realm, causing positional migration of the entire Alchemy Workshop. But based on the intensity I've encountered before, Teda's Void Realm isn't perfect, it can't move far, likely still within the Great Rift. This time the Sixth Group patrols while searching for the Alchemy Workshop's location."

Palmer noticed the bewildered look on Bologue's face, and with a bit of a mischievous grin, he said.

"What? Is there something the expert actually doesn't know?"

Bologue looked at Palmer expressionlessly; the two stared at each other for a few seconds, Palmer waved his hand complaining, "Are you threatening me?"

Admittedly, Bologue is skilled in interrogation; when he stares silently at you, you'd inevitably spill the little secrets inside your mind, seeking a shred of safety.

"For chatterbox like you, this effectively reduces the cumbersome nature of our communication."

Bologue didn't care about it; whenever he didn't want to listen to Palmer's blabbering, he did this, and Palmer would boil his lengthy discourse down to a few succinct sentences.

"Just like a Cultivation Room can continuously extend in spatial dimensions, different Void Realms possess varying degrees of power."

Palmer found such conversations devoid of any fun.

"Remember the Undying Club? It was also protected by a Void Realm, and the Void Realm enveloping it had the ability to transfer location.

I heard from Serey, the Undying Club changes location every now and then, but lately, they've grown rather fond of Oubos, and plan to stay here for a hundred years."

Palmer explained, those Undead are often hidden away inside that little house, and the little house itself can move too, just Palmer wasn't clear on the specific movement criteria, after all, he isn't a member of the Undying Club.

"Sounds like a mobile castle."

"To be precise, it's a mobile bar, but... can the Undying Club do that too?" Bologue was slightly surprised, "Serey didn't tell me about this."

"That's something you need to reflect on yourself."

Palmer said as he reached out and poked Bologue, "Stop thinking about that damn Alchemy Puppet. Do you remember the last time you came to the Undying Club and happily got drunk with everyone?"

Palmer's tone softened, tinged with a bit of resentment, "Do you still care about us?"

"I... I don't like getting drunk."

Bologue looked at Palmer with disdain in his eyes and replied dryly.

Seeing this, Palmer shook his head while showing a pained expression.

"It's over, everything's over, even experts can have their minds bewitched, this all feels too familiar."

Palmer actually started reminiscing.

"Back then, it was the same with my fiancée, ended up neglecting my friends, they wouldn't invite me to hang out, and then I joined the Order Bureau, now even my fiancée is gone."

Speaking emotionally, Palmer seemed about to cry. Bologue, apart from feeling some disdain, really didn't know how to respond.

Should I ask someone else?

As a member of the Undying Club, Bologue, apart from passing through the club on his way to work, rarely went to the House of Drunks on his own initiative.

Palmer was different; whenever he had time, he would hang out in the Undying Club, chatting away with Serey.

The blood feud between the Clarks and the Villeries was nonexistent between the two, who treated each other like brothers, singing and dancing together.

"Is this really okay? Shouldn't your family be very angry if they knew?" Serey would sometimes ask.

"What's done is done!" Palmer would raise his glass high, then quietly add, "Once we step outside this door, we should pretend not to know each other. How about that?"

"You're a Night Race Lord, I'm the heir of the Clarks... We can pretend to have a fight when we meet, of course, just pretend. After all, you can't die; why not let me win a little?"

"Perfect!"

Palmer's shamelessness was met with Serey's thumbs-up of approval.

"And so, Teda disappeared along with the Immortal Heart and his Alchemy Workshop, but he can't escape; he should still be hiding in the Great Rift, finding him is just a matter of time." Palmer concluded.

Bologue thought for a moment and then remembered another thing.

"What about that thing promised by the Tyrant?"

"What?"

"The Fantasy Species, did anyone get it?"

Palmer carefully recalled the conversation, looking as if he were racking his brain, and then said, "No, no news about that."

"I feel more like the Tyrant issued an empty promise, deceiving everyone."

Recalling the information he had learned, Palmer continued, "Devils are like that, a damn bunch of cunning villains."

"No... devils are indeed sinister and detestable creatures, but they never break their word, nor do they lie." Bologue whispered.

"Are you saying..."

"Someone did indeed obtain the Fantasy Species, but who it is remains unknown."

Thinking of those hidden things beneath the surface, Bologue felt a headache, wondering if he was worrying too much. Such matters should be left to Geoffrey and them.

Sometimes Bologue felt a bit... arrogant, always wanting to control everything, yet his abilities couldn't keep up with it all.

It's time to advance the matters of promotion and become that Knight of Prayer.

"Speaking of which, Bologue."

Palmer's eyes were full of curiosity as he pursued the question.

"What's really beneath the Great Rift?"

Bologue's eyes flashed with an imperceptible color; he didn't know how to describe it all to Palmer, more importantly, whether to tell Palmer about these secrets.

The crown of King Solomon, the buried Holy City...

Just as Bologue was about to speak, a knock on the door sounded, and then a stranger walked in.

"Mr. Bologue Lazarus." The man called out Bologue's name.

Bologue sized up the man; he looked refined, wearing thick glasses, a kind smile stayed on his face, and he looked at him softly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Evan Rudolph, deputy leader of the Fourth Group, Abyss Watcher."