Endless Debt

Time regression.

As it stands, this is the main ability granted to Bologue, which comes with a self-contained cyclical time axis. Whenever he is injured, the time axis advances, returning the injured area to its optimal state; if faced with death, a complete regression occurs.

Under this major rule, time regression comes with numerous limitations, such as the consumption of ether, and the extension of regression time after multiple deaths in a short period.

Knowing these details, Bologue felt calm. He had long perceived the oddity of his blessing, harboring many speculations.

This information merely confirms Bologue's conjectures, sparing him from wild imaginations, but it also raises other questions.

Bologue looked at the portion obscured with black ink, where a name must be hidden below. This [information-covered] individual seems to be the one responsible for this extreme test and proposed the idea of time regression.

More importantly, he later added that he believed his blessing should offer more than just this, likely containing further secrets, yet they were constrained by technical limitations, unable to bring them to light.

This realization troubled Bologue for a few seconds before he dismissed it from his mind. If these guys can't figure it out, why should he bother?

The question returned to the beginning; to unravel it all, Bologue needed to find that damned Devil.

He packed the information back into the dossier, skewering the remaining sausage and cleaned his plate.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Bologue wanted to do something, but suddenly felt very weary, unwilling to do anything.

Reflecting carefully, Bologue had indeed been rather busy lately, from the venue raid to survival in the Abandoned Land, barely resting after waking, then rushing here to handle all these matters...

Bologue forcefully rubbed his head, then lay down on the bed, letting the softness envelop him, easing his tense nerves.

His breathing gradually steadied. He struggled not to think about these things, trying to relax his mind a little.

Yet, a question lingered endlessly in his mind.

"Independent...time axis?"

Bologue opened his eyes, gazing at the clock on the wall, its ticks reverberating in the silence, the hands gliding smoothly forward.

Everyone's time axis constantly moves forward, but not Bologue's. As he progresses, he also returns to a former time point, looping within a period, allowing him to return to optimal state through countless deaths.

Thus Bologue experiences hunger, grows a beard, lives like a normal person, but differently from normal people, he resides in a time-loop cage; everyone moves forward, while he circles within a foggy time segment.

The person with [information-covered] doubts about the impact this might have but wasn't entirely sure.

If he could, Bologue wished to converse with them — whether they still lived, he knew not.

"Time...regression..."

Bologue murmured softly with closed eyes, a smile inadvertently crossing his face.

At least Bologue finally has some clarity on part of his chaos, a good beginning; he mustn't rush, taking it slow is better.

Confirming Aimou's survival, the truth of resurrection, Bologue finally relaxed completely, temporarily breaking free from the series of events, catching a breath.

Here at the Undying Club, with a group of old monsters overseeing, the nearby Order Bureau gave him less worry about suddenly killing a formidable enemy and being ripped to shreds... even if that happened, he'd revive eventually.

Bologue lay on the bed without bothering to change clothes and fell asleep.

Soon after, footsteps echoed outside the door, hardly disturbing Bologue. In the dim corridor, a bizarre figure crawled along the floor, dressed ludicrously in a mascot costume, styled as a dog.

On all fours, crawling adeptly, deep breaths marked his form as his tongue left repulsing saliva trails.

Sai Zong continued impersonating a dog, crawling clumsily, but abruptly paused outside Bologue's door.

He lifted his head, his gaze inscrutable, fixed on the door.

A dread-inducing sight, Sai Zong's years of mimicking a dog had been flawless, yet now, an anthropomorphic expression crept into the canine demeanor, a fusion torn asunder, grotesque.

Sai Zong seemed to peer through the door, perceiving Bologue sleeping inside.

He paused for a substantial while, fostering an eerie malevolence in the shadows until it almost surged...

Nothing happened.

Sai Zong sniffed around the door before lifting his leg to relieve bladder pressure.

"Sai Zong!"

Bode's shout came from behind.

Before Sai Zong could let go, a skeletal figure sprinted forward, leaping fluently, exhibiting perfect precision.

Following a pitiful dog yelp, Bode executed a swift sliding tackle that brought Sai Zong down.

Unfortunately, Bode was still a bit slow, and the pale yellow, glistening liquid uncontrollably sprayed everywhere, splattering all over the ground.

The world seemed to slow down in Bode's eyes; he clearly saw the trajectory of the liquid as it fell. Like a diver, he twisted his body as much as possible within limited space and time to avoid being covered by the liquid.

The movements were graceful, very extreme... but ultimately useless.

The skeletal man and the dog were flung several meters away, dragged along like a mop with water stains, finally crashing against the wall at the end, coming to a stop.

It took them a while to slowly get up, Bode silent. After a brief calm, he began to punch and kick Sai Zong while cursing, finally grabbing Sai Zong by the scruff of the neck and dragging him out of the corridor.

"You've been a dog for decades, and you still haven't learned how to pee in designated spots!"

Bode cursed, the "woof woof woof" barking followed incessantly, Sai Zong was probably protesting.

Bologue apparently didn't notice any of this; he rarely relaxed and had fallen into a deep sleep on the bed.

Bologue's sleep was great this time, his whole body recharged with strength, and when he woke up, the sound of snoring echoed in his ears like a tractor running beside him. Then, Bologue felt something heavy on his chest.

Opening his eyes, he saw a blob of black pressing down on his chest.

Bologue gave it a nudge, Wei'Er continued snoring and rolled off his chest, sleeping deeply, curling up next to him again.

Wei'Er's inner soul is human, but sometimes its actions are influenced by its form, becoming very cat-like.

Bologue rubbed his eyes. Judging by the clock, he had only slept for a few hours, but those few hours of rest felt really good.

He didn't wake Wei'Er up. Though he wasn't sure why it appeared here, Bologue was long accustomed to the oddities inside the Undying Club.

Nothing in this bizarre place could surprise him.

After putting away the files from Time Rewind, Bologue tidied his clothes and pushed the door open to leave.

He'd slept until evening, and by that time, Serey had already gone out wandering. Bologue guessed he was probably dancing gracefully on a pole at some nightclub now.

To be honest, Bologue always found it hard to connect Serey with the mysterious Night Race Lord, and even harder to detect any deep-seated grudge from that damn smiling face of his.

Bologue could only silently pray that, as another undead, he wouldn't become someone like Serey in the future.

The bar seemed to have just undergone a thorough cleaning, with spotless floors and tables wiped clean. Bode leaned against the counter, looking slightly melancholy at the wall full of liquor bottles.

Bologue remembered Bode's story: he gained an Undying Body but lost all sensation, and the alcohol he once loved felt no different from plain water to him; in fact, he couldn't even feel plain water.

"It's really clean," Bologue commented.

"It's mainly because of that bastard Sai Zong," Bode cursed Sai Zong.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, he peed inside again. I beat him, and he kept peeing while being beaten, yowling and making a mess everywhere."

Bologue's face turned awkward. Yes, it's really hard to imagine associating these lunatics with the illustrious undead, especially Sai Zong.

Being around longer than even Serey, this guy has lived too long and cares for nothing anymore, completely letting himself go.

Who knows if, after a few more centuries, Serey will become like Sai Zong.

Bologue tried to envision it: a skeletal man chasing a dog, shouting, and spraying everywhere...

Heavens, help!

"So… what about Sai Zong? Should he take a bath?" Bologue hesitantly asked.

"Him? I kicked him out, he's probably wandering outside now."

Bode appeared indifferent, "Don't worry. Although he's a dog, he's also an indestructible dog."

No, Bologue wasn't worried about Sai Zong's safety. He was more concerned about the law enforcement in Opus; no wonder the people in the Field Operations Department always had the look of stepping on dog poop when the Undying Club was mentioned.

A person behaving like a dog, rampaging through the streets could make it to the papers!

"Ah, alright, alright."

Bologue nodded, now only wanting to quickly leave this crazy place, and if Sai Zong really bit someone, hopefully, he wouldn't be dispatched to handle it.

"Well... bye, Bode."