Endless Debt

Bologue felt something was wrong. At least from the moment the explosion sounded, the original plan was completely disrupted, turning into the beginning of this madness.

The explosion wasn't caused by Palmer, but by the Simian Corrupt Sect. The most deadly thing was that their appearance was somewhat different from what Bologue had imagined.

In the original plan, Bologue had thought that the Simian Corrupt Sect would make a move for the Immortal Heart and battle with the Gray Trade Association, but the reality was that the Simian Corrupt Sect was not in the venue from the start. The defense of the Gray Trade Association was easily dismantled by these cultists until the venue was completely surrounded.

Bologue cursed the Gray Trade Association. These merchants sell such expensive things, yet didn't think to strengthen security?

But... it seems they can't be entirely blamed. The Simian Corrupt Sect are unwelcome guests. They didn't have an invitation, but they still found their way here.

Bologue looked at the heart on the high platform. It seemed to possess awareness, sensing the arrival of the believers, awakening for them, flesh swelling and twisting, countless cracks breaking out on the embedded quartz, blood oozing along the gaps, seeping beyond the quartz.

This was how they found the location of the venue. From the beginning, the Immortal Heart was constantly calling for their arrival.

"This wasn't in the documents!"

Bologue cursed fiercely, leaping from his position, then the sharp long sword shattered the place where he stood, the silent knight once again raising the blade, the darkness beneath the helmet gazing at Bologue.

"Is this the scenario the best of the best have to face?"

Bologue steadied himself, his indifferent expression gradually replaced by anger.

Geoffrey often told him, when performing field operations, to adapt to the changes in the situation, but isn't this phrase 'adapt to the situation' a bit too vague?

The Simian Corrupt Sect, in pursuit of the Immortal Heart, found the venue ahead of the Order Bureau. The merchants were routed, his partner was missing from the start, and now, before reinforcements arrived, everything relied on Bologue himself.

Oh, right, there's also a deadly Negative Power User in the venue, eyeing the Immortal Heart.

The silver lining amidst misfortune is that Bologue is not alone this time.

"Aimou, have you ever considered changing jobs?"

Next to him, an unlucky fellow was sliced in half by another knight, the corpse rolling down the steps, and in this horror film-like scene, Bologue calmly asked.

"What? What?"

Aimou was so shocked by the sudden change in the scene that she couldn't speak.

Everything she experienced today was like a minor, still in school age, suddenly thrown into a trench, the world refreshing at the speed of seconds.

"For example, joining the Field Operations Department? We are very short-staffed right now, and our benefits are great."

Bologue pulled out the Sheep Horn Shock Hammer, engaging directly with the knight, the metal clashing and rumbling constantly.

"Won't you consider it? I think you have extraordinary potential, and now is a great time to start nurturing it."

Bologue sidestepped a slash, his speed much faster than the knight's, the Sheep Horn Shock Hammer delivering a fierce blow to the side of the helmet.

He spoke like a human resources manager, telling Aimou, who came for a job, about the wonders of the work, but his hands were merciless. With a powerful blow, the head beneath the helmet was smashed into a bloody mess, a large spray of blood mixed with flesh splattering out.

"Ah? I... I'll consider it!"

Aimou stuttered.

Her current state was a bit chaotic, the Face of Horror and this grotesque freak show continuously affecting Aimou's mind. Even as an alchemy puppet, it developed a strong sense of fear.

But she's not that scared now, not because Aimou suppressed her emotions, but because another emotion was affecting her.

Bologue Lazarus.

It was Bologue influencing her. When this guy pulled out the Sheep Horn Shock Hammer and smashed the enemy's skull, this guy had no fear, instead, it was a near-perverse delight. This joy directly swept away the fear in Aimou's heart.

She's also starting to get excited. Aimou clearly knows that in such a damned situation, excitement is very unreasonable, but she can't control these feelings.

"Great! Then I'll get you an application form when I get back, and who knows if there's a bonus."

After smashing the skull, the knight fell over, seemingly dead, but Bologue's actions did not stop. He pressed his body low with force, another long sword grazing his hair as he passed, yet another knight reached his back.

The collision of metal sparked bright glitter, blood swung, transforming into scarlet wings.

Bologue closed in on the knight, leaving him with no space to swing his sword, and the next second, dense iron spikes burst from Bologue's arm, like rampantly growing steel thorns.

The Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid proliferated and solidified, and Bologue thought this move could penetrate the knight's armor, but after the sparks friction, the armor only had many shallow scratches. It was harder than Bologue expected.

Bologue immediately changed tactics, the iron spikes turned soft, transforming into a cluster of snakes that tightly coiled around the knight's sword-wielding hands.

He turned and waved his hand, a silver snake emerged from Bologue's sleeve and solidified into a slender blade in his hand. It sliced through the armor's gaps and beheaded the knight, killing yet another person.

Warm blood splattered on the mask, seeping into the leather. Bologue could smell the strong scent of blood, an excitant urging his nerves forward.

This task was far worse than Bologue had imagined, mainly because the situation on site changed too quickly. Aside from these suddenly attacking Corrupt Sect members, there was also a lady from the Night Race.

Despite the complaints, Bologue felt it was alright; after all, experts are born to tackle complex tasks.

Bologue enjoyed this slightly challenging situation. A game that's too easy to complete leaves him without a sense of accomplishment.

With the activation of Secret Energy, the intensity of the melee continued to escalate, bodies and blood aplenty.

This was also Bologue's first encounter with a large-scale melee involving Condensers, the various bizarre Secret Energies dazzling him. Aside from First Stage Condensers, some Prayer Believers were present as well.

Bologue guessed there might also be Negative Power Users hiding amongst them. Unlike Condensers and Prayer Believers, Negative Power Users have enough capability to conceal themselves, remaining independent from the chaos around them, and their intentions were clear.

Latis slowly walked up to the high platform, completely ignoring the chaos around him, with only his eyes fixed on the heart sealed in quartz.

Bologue took a deep breath, contemplating the next move; he wouldn't allow anyone to get hold of the Immortal Heart, aiming to prolong the chaos until the Order Bureau arrived.

Just as Bologue was considering what to do next, the knights who were supposed to be dead started moving again.

The beheaded ones picked up their own heads and placed them back on the severed necks. After the flesh healed, they reattached once more.

Only this time, after resurrection, one could clearly see bloated lumps of flesh growing out from the necks, almost pushing out the helmets.

This scenario kept happening again and again; some knights' armor already shattered, losing the restraints of the armor, and their flesh wildly proliferated, growing ferociously from the damaged parts until the end, hanging like tumors on the armor.

Undead?

Bologue shook his head; this evidently had nothing to do with the Undead, it was more like some sort of power from the Corrupt Sect.

The resurrected knights raised their blades once again. This time, Bologue held nothing back. The snake cluster forged into a round shield, blocking the blade's cleave. With a forceful swing, knocking the blade aside, the knight's chest was left completely exposed, and the Sheep Horn Shock Hammer came down mercilessly.

Once, twice, thrice.

The rumbling kept going until Bologue had completely shattered the knight's chest armor.

The nauseating stench rose up; underneath the chest armor was a mass of writhing and intertwined flesh that hadn't died from Bologue's heavy blow but instead showed a strong life force.

It was then Bologue vaguely understood; the armor wasn't protecting the flesh, it was restricting the flesh. Freed from the constraints of the armor, the flesh unabashedly began to grow.

The knight was still trying to stand up again, but at that moment, the flesh at his chest had grown into a giant sack of meat, heavily hanging on the chest. It took a few steps, unable to maintain balance, stumbling directly to the ground, but the growth of flesh didn't stop.

The flesh, like plants rooted in the earth, spread a layer of sticky blood-flesh fungal blanket on the cold stone steps.

Bologue looked elsewhere; others encountered the same situation. Some unlucky ones were caught by the flesh, which looked very much like the Blood and Flesh Derivation he had seen before, ripping open huge mouths filled with sharp teeth, eagerly devouring the unlucky ones' flesh.

Unlike the stable Blood and Flesh Derivation, these flesh masses exhibited extreme aggressiveness, consuming everything edible around them as if never satisfied.

Some were weary from dealing with the knights and the flesh's attack, some panicked and fled, searching for a way out, while others still stood in the venue, gazing complexly at the Immortal Heart.

"These merchants sure know how to pick a place."

Bologue muttered softly; now it has indeed become a Beast Fighting Arena.

Life and death, blood and bone. Everyone here happily chopped away as if they had deep-seated grudges amidst themselves.

Bologue lowered his head, took a deep breath, and when he lifted his head again, his blue eyes brightened, accompanied by the golden halo within them.

He took out the detonator from his pocket, and without any hesitation, pressed the switch, activating the Ether.

After a brief delay, a ground-shaking explosion erupted, the shock of the Ether swept through layers of buildings, and roaring booms plunged everyone's hearing into a void.

Soon, the storm descended upon everyone's ears.

The Void Realm maintaining the venue suffered heavy damage, the original suppression on Condensers weakened, along with the buildings cracking, large stones tumbling down from above, crushing the flesh into powder.

In the apocalyptic scene, Bologue stood together with the terrified Aimou amidst the smoke and dust.

Bologue ignored the falling boulders, indulging in his art creation as an explosion enthusiast.