Endless Debt

The rotting flesh grew rampant, and a putrid stench filled every corner of the space. The Beast Fighting Arena had now turned into a scarlet Hell. The roots of decay grew wildly, constantly spreading, devouring the dead flesh as their nourishment and birthing even more grotesque monstrous mutants.

Bologue felt like he was witnessing the birth of an ecosystem, an ecosystem meant to exist only in Hell.

The solid walls and floor were gone, replaced by a bloody fungal carpet. Jagged bones rose continuously, forming a basic framework. Soon after, an uninterrupted flow of flesh draped over them, transforming into monsters that looked both human and beast, attacking the nearest living creatures.

There weren't many living people left in the Beast Fighting Arena. People either died or fled for their lives. Those who remained possessed great power as Condensers. Under the Tyrant's protection, they fought with increasing valor, constantly proving their worth.

Bologue wasn't like them, driven mad by the pursuit of value. He fought while fleeing, searching for a safe place and constantly vigilant for Teda's whereabouts.

"Aimou, are you okay?"

Now Bologue also began to feel that facing such a situation during the first job training was an overwhelming shock for Aimou.

A crimson tentacle snapped upwards, and Bologue slashed it down with his blade. Pieces of flesh remained on the blade and started crawling and growing directly on the blade's surface.

The growth potential of this flesh had already surpassed the limitations of biological capabilities.

"I'm... I'm okay…"

Aimou's voice was somewhat numb. If Bologue hadn't been supporting her, she might have already vomited... if she even could.

The Shared Chord Body significantly enhanced Bologue, and the Constant Motion Core provided a continuous supply of Ether, allowing him to unleash Secret Energy unceasingly. Aimou further strengthened his perception of Ether and even obscured Bologue's actions.

He was like a phantom, traversing the hell of flesh and blood.

More bizarre and frenzied scenes were unfolding. Giant masses of flesh grew from between the walls. After a short incubation, humanoid flesh monsters were released. They had no pupils, but when they opened their mouths to roar, their oral cavities were packed with eyes.

Bologue pulled out a short-barreled shotgun and pulled the trigger at the monsters, shattering their heads into a bloody mess.

The ground began to tremble, and stone pillars rose one by one—not from Bologue's Secret Energy but from other Condensers. They launched a fierce assault on the high platform, trying to seize the Immortal Heart.

As the Scarlet Bishop, Latis was extremely powerful. He could partially control the decaying roots. Several thick branches of flesh flailed wildly on the high platform, their surfaces covered with dense sharp teeth that could scrape off large chunks of flesh with a mere brush.

The Negative Power User's strength was unmistakably released, but this did not deter the people. They circled around the prey like hyenas.

People's faces were soaked with fresh blood, their expressions fanatical and grotesque.

Bologue roughly understood humanity's Original Sin and realized that there was a cost to the Tyrant's protection. The Tyrant empowered these people, allowing their inner greed to be fully unleashed.

"Aimou, do you know what the Fantasy Fruit is?" Bologue asked Aimou in a low voice.

Besides the Immortal Heart, there was another lure—the Fantasy Fruit promised by the Tyrant. Bologue didn't understand this item, but he felt that Aimou should know.

In the state of Shared Chord Body, Aimou was like a walking alchemy encyclopedia for Bologue, significantly making up for his lack of knowledge.

"The Fantasy Fruit…"

Upon mentioning this thing, Aimou's voice sounded peculiar, but Bologue couldn't pinpoint what was strange, as his focus was entirely on the battle.

"It's considered an alchemical product born from Condensers, known as the 'Fantasy Species' that can grant wishes."

Aimou's voice echoed in his ear.

Fantasy Species.

The term sounded familiar to Bologue, probably seen in a book somewhere.

"Do you know about Fantasy Becoming Reality?" Aimou asked again.

"I know, it's the unique power of the Illusion Creation School. What's up?"

"You can think of the Fantasy Species as a materialized power of Fantasy Becoming Reality." Aimou explained.

"When a Condenser reaches the Second Stage, they will extend this to create a sub-school. At the Third Stage, the main school and sub-school will merge, forming a Secret Energy field similar to a domain. The Fourth Stage is the culmination of everything.

Only when reaching the Fourth Stage, with a purely extraordinary Illusion Creation, can the power of Fantasy Becoming Reality be solidified and materialized. Its birth is not simple; on the contrary, it's extremely difficult."

"Why?" Bologue asked.

"The birth of a Fantasy Species requires the life of a Condenser as the price."

Hearing this kind of answer, Bologue's thoughts hesitated for a moment.

"The Fantasy Species itself is stripping away the Defender's Alchemy Matrix, condensing into a fruit that others can wish upon to make Fantasy Becoming Reality."

Aimou continued to explain.

"This cannot be passively stripped, but by the Defender choosing to do so voluntarily... voluntarily dying. You can understand it as an alchemical product; it's not enough just to have the Defender's power or the pathway of the Illusion Creation School. Sufficient alchemical knowledge is needed, using one's life as the material to perform the final alchemy."

"Sounds truly crazy," Bologue murmured to himself.

Among the various Extraordinary Organizations, when the Seekers of Glory do not take action, the Defenders are the true first echelon, possessing terrifying power beyond imagination. Yet such beings would ultimately become a fruit—a fruit for others to make wishes upon.

"Fantasy Becoming Reality..."

Bologue spoke softly, sensing a hint of hysterical madness within.

"Can the Fantasy Species really grant wishes?" Bologue asked.

"It's just fantasy," Aimou cruelly replied, "The power to grant wishes belongs only to the Devil."

"But there are always some people unwilling to offer their souls to the Devil and still want to achieve certain goals. Their obsession is so deep that even the power of the Fantasy Species is distorted..."

Aimou said without any emotion.

"The Fantasy Species cannot directly help people fulfill their wishes, but it can cheat, bypassing the Devil's power to indirectly grant wishes."

"For example?"

Bologue had never heard of any power that could indirectly fulfill wishes.

"To turn an impossible thing into possible," Aimou said, "To change the probability of an absolutely impossible outcome from zero to one."

"But it only gives fantastical wishes a mere chance to be realized, and this chance is minimal," Bologue said.

"It depends on what kind of wish you want to fulfill. If it's to attain an Undying Body, that's obviously difficult, but for other wishes, there might be a full capacity to realize them.

For example, if you are a Defender about to ascend to a Seeker of Glory, and you have prepared everything, yet there remains a slight risk, the Fantasy Species can fully compensate for everything, significantly increasing your success rate, or even directly making you a Seeker of Glory."

"Is this akin to competing with the Devil for business?" Bologue joked.

"Not really, the conditions for the birth of a Fantasy Species are too harsh. Apart from the power of at least a Defender and the restrictions of Illusion Creation, the most important thing is that nobody would willingly die for just one wish. After all, it is a Defender."

Aimou hesitated for a moment and added, "Only some dying individuals who meet the conditions would make themselves into a Fantasy Species before their death."

"Stripping the Alchemy Matrix, condensing into a Fantasy Fruit... It sounds like another Philosopher's Stone."

The Alchemy Matrix is attached to the soul; Bologue had never heard of a method to separate the two. The most likely outcome would be for them to condense together.

"I'm not sure, I also came across these records in some secret literature," Aimou said.

Her words caught Bologue's attention. It was evident that aside from the power of a Defender, Teda met almost all the requirements of a Fantasy Species, and with Aimou's knowledge of such matters, it indicated that Teda surely had such books.

"Is there anything else?" Bologue inquired further.

"No, the power of the Fantasy Species here is too rare. There are only a few records in history; it is like a secret in itself. I suspect that person was lying; such power seems more like a fictional story."

Aimou did not trust the existence of the Fantasy Species, much like its name suggests, it is an inherently deformed fantasy.

"As for the manner in which it fulfills wishes, it's even less known. It is a mystery that nobody knows."

Bologue shook his head, saying nothing. If someone else had promised such power, Bologue might have doubted alongside Aimou, but this time it was different, as it was promised by the Tyrant.

The Devil never deceives, nor does the Tyrant.

The Tyrant's promise was real, and the power of the Fantasy Species was genuine. This fruit possessed the power to make fantasies come true, though it was unclear in what way it would achieve this.

"Fulfill wishes..."

Aimou's voice lingered by his ear, in the crimson Hell, she asked with a hint of confusion.

"Why are humans so obsessed with fulfilling wishes?"

"I'm not sure either. Everyone's wishes are different, as are the reasons driving them. When one becomes overly fixated on a wish, it is inherently an irrational behavior."

Bologue paused for a few seconds, perhaps recalling his own delusions, and then continued.

"But as mentioned earlier, this is a cruel and cold rational world. People need a bit of irrationality to shake the reality where the probability is absolutely zero and thus gain a bit of illusory beauty."

"A bit of romance?"

Aimou remembered the words Bologue had taught her.

"Yes, a bit of romance."

Bologue said, as he swung a curve of light, slicing through the flesh and bones in front of him.