Endless Debt

For everyone caught in the chaos today, everything that happened was absolutely terrible, and Jia Meng was no exception.

First, a series of severe injuries, then the entry of the Order Bureau, and now the appearance of Gray.

If it weren't for the agonizing pain in his abdomen that almost made Jia Meng faint, he would've thought the man before him was just an illusory phantom.

Regrettably, this wasn't a hallucination but an undeniable reality.

Gray hadn't died on that stormy night; he was alive, filled with the vengeful flames, sworn to dismember the man before him.

"How do you feel, Captain!"

Gray laughed as he unleashed his sword, the blinding Alchemy Matrix entwined around his arm; as a Condenser from the Origin School, each of Gray's strikes carried Ethereal Amplification, his blade heavy as if cast from a thousand pounds of steel.

Jia Meng gave no response, severely wounded and hit by Gray's unexpected attacks; if not for the Prayer Believers' power sustaining him, he'd be dead by now.

The Blood Transfer Sword flickered repeatedly, tracing crimson paths as it collided with Gray's blade, illuminating Jia Meng's pale face; every strike from Gray's sword edged Jia Meng closer to death.

"Old friends reunited; don't you have anything to say!"

Gray roared defiantly, pouring all his accumulated rage and resentment over time into the sword in his hand, forging a judgment of revenge.

"I killed you once; I can kill you again!"

Jia Meng hissed; he couldn't fathom how Gray had survived or why Gray had appeared here.

The old Jia Meng might have surrendered amid such circumstances, accepting death with composure, but now it's different; he bore the Immortal Heart, the key that let the Shadow King live, willing to give everything for the true King.

The Shadow of Illusion and Reality surged, swinging its long blade, stirring waves of air, and spreading narrow blade marks across the ground and walls; the entire cliff trembled violently.

Gray's figure was swift and deceptive; under Ethereal Amplification, he was like a phantom, dodging the attacks from the Shadow of Illusion and Reality while still retaliating at Jia Meng.

Just like when he confronted Bologue, Gray carried many Alchemy Armaments; their stability might be inferior, but their quantity sufficed against Jia Meng, heavily injured as he was.

Releasing countless tiny darts with a wave, they were blocked by the solidified Shadow of Illusion and Reality, but in the next instant, they ignited and exploded, the booming sound shaking the Shadow of Illusion and Reality, yet unable to harm Jia Meng.

Unlike many others, Jia Meng hadn't chosen to derive from secondary schools when becoming a Prayer Believer, thus preventing the oddity of his Secret Energy; he pursued the extreme path of Illusion Creation, his Illusion Creations powerful despite their many limitations.

Through the eruptive dust cloud, the Blade of Illusion forged by Ether suddenly swung upward, slicing a massive crevice among the rising rocks, sending countless pebbles tumbling down.

Jia Meng roared madly, swinging the Blade of Illusion rapidly, the blade tailing Gray's figure, turning into aimless frenzied chops.

Gray maneuvered between the descending blades, a Condenser from the Origin School; when alone, his combat capabilities were constrained, not to mention confronting Prayer Believers like Jia Meng, even if severely wounded.

Gray distinctly had the chance just now to shoot Jia Meng's head and end his revenge, yet he felt it insufficient to release his fury; he'd rather endure danger and expose his identity, making Jia Meng consciously meet his demise.

Since Jia Meng idolized his Shadow King so much, then utterly crush all his hopes firsthand.

The glow of Ether rose, Gray's figure slightly stalled, then accelerated forward, transforming into a Sharp Sword; Jia Meng's frantic swings instantly shifted, slashing down the path of Gray's advance.

Jia Meng wasn't a weakling; on the contrary, as a Prayer Believer, he was immensely formidable; just unlucky upon arriving in Opus.

The betrayal operation had barely begun when he encountered Lebius and Geoffrey, finally managing to dominate the Beast Fighting Arena, only to face Bologue.

The Undying Body granted Bologue an almost frightening error tolerance, whereas his deceitful and changing Secret Energy overwhelmed Jia Meng.

Only now, battling Gray, did Jia Meng retrieve some courage as a Prayer Believer, yet this courage felt more like hysteria resisting death.

Facing the descending Blade of Illusion, Gray abruptly halted his advance, then dashed towards another side, while continuing to unleash Alchemy Weapons to disrupt Jia Meng.

Until during one of multiple assaults, an anticipated explosion didn't occur, replaced by rising toxic gas.

Under the Shadow of Illusion and Reality's cover, Jia Meng could effectively resist attacks, but facing gaseous poisons?

The sound of corrosive acid was incessant, accompanied by gleaming ripples across the Shadow of Illusion and Reality, successfully defending against direct poison contact, yet the gaseous toxins dispersed widely, quickly touching unprotected parts.

The skin that made contact started to swell and fester; fortunately, Jia Meng retreated hastily from the poison's range; he was ready to attack Gray again when Gray leaped towards him high.

Gray gripped the Fire-Calling Staff, Ether outputted fully, with blazing flames filling every corner, the violent dragon's breath engulfing Jia Meng entirely.

Amid the scorching flames, the glow of Ether surged abruptly, the Blade of Illusion slicing through layers of the fiery inferno.

Jia Meng's voice was wretched, like that of a dying man on the verge of collapse, yet his pupils were bright and fiery, filled with absolutely pure Ether.

The Alchemy Matrix on the Fire-Calling Staff began to flicker, dense sparks suddenly appearing. Without the slightest hesitation, Gray hurled the Fire-Calling Staff at Jia Meng, and immediately the Alchemy Matrix started to collapse and explode.

The intense explosion caused countless cracks to burst across the entire cliff, beneath which scarlet flesh sprawled and grew. If the battle between the two became any more fierce, the whole ground seemed likely to collapse into the profound darkness below.

Jia Meng successfully withstood another round of Gray's attacks, his pupils bloodshot and crimson, his hair wildly entangled with blood on his face.

"Gray, you can't stop all this!"

Jia Meng shouted at Gray, his extreme fanaticism overwhelming his fear of death.

"He will eventually take his throne!"

"Do you mean that so-called Shadow King?" Through the dust, Gray held Milasha's Secret Sword, sneering, "I no longer care about those, Jia Meng."

"You were a good teacher, Jia Meng."

Gray said warmly, yet his voice was laced with venomous resentment, "You taught me all of this, the cruelty and ruthlessness of this world, and the thrill of revenge."

Slowly raising the Secret Sword, just as Grey had once learned.

"I care not for any Shadow King, nor for the King's Secret Sword and the King's Shield Guard."

Ether filled every part of his body, singing triumphantly in the Alchemy Matrix, bestowing Extraordinary Power upon his mortal flesh.

"All I desire is revenge, to thoroughly exterminate you, along with that pretender king, everything and everyone!"

Gray crushed the ground beneath his feet, his silhouette distorting into a sharp, elongated Light Blade.

In his fury, Milasha's Secret Sword also shone with ether's radiance. It was activated, and Extraordinary Power was bestowed upon this steel.

Jia Meng, dazzled by the lingering brilliance, briefly lost focus before recalling the power of Milasha's Secret Sword. Desperately, he swung the Blade of Illusion to meet the descending Secret Sword.

Ether unleashed with full force, constructing a real blade amidst fantasy. The phantom constantly solidified, as if fantasy became reality, materializing as a true entity in Jia Meng's Illusion Creation, solely to intercept this lethal strike.

At the moment the blades crossed, Gray suddenly shifted his body, turning, allowing the Illusory Blade to tear through his left arm, then raised the Secret Sword with his right hand, brushing past the Blade of Illusion, thrusting toward Jia Meng's heart.

"This is Milasha's revenge!"

Amid Gray's roar, the Shadow of Illusion and Reality solidified into sturdy armor, heavily covering Jia Meng, but this time, this absolute defense couldn't block Milasha's Secret Sword.

Silence Sword.

This was the name of Milasha's Secret Sword, and its effect was as the name suggested, able to silence the ether touched by the blade, making it unusable. Its range was extremely limited, yet at this critical moment, it became the armor-piercing edge that killed Jia Meng.

Blood and pain were cleaved in two by the Silence Sword, along with all the hatred and venomous resentment completely purified.

Everything became much smoother after that. After a difficult piercing, the Silence Sword easily penetrated Jia Meng's chest. Gray pressed down the blade with all his strength, the Silence Sword viciously slicing downward, splitting several ribs, shredding organs, and then slashing out from Jia Meng's waist, opening a ghastly wound.

Fragments of flesh and tainted blood, mixed with broken internal organs, spilled all over the ground. The thick stench awakened the rampant flesh below, sprouting through the earth like tender shoots. Scarlet stalks dug into Jia Meng's broken body, gnawing at his flesh.

The radiance of the Shadow of Illusion and Reality gradually faded until it completely dissipated behind Jia Meng, leaving only dim light struggling to sustain the operation of the Alchemy Matrix. Jia Meng sluggishly lifted his head, looking at the one-armed Gray.

"You... you have no idea what you've done."

Jia Meng's voice carried a hint of distortion, as if crying out in pain.

But such sorrow did not last long, as he slowly fell back, dense scarlet stalks wrapping around his body.

On his pale face, blood-red eyes stared intently at Gray, a cursed voice resonating.

"It's alright, Gray."

Jia Meng chuckled faintly.

"He will return... it's destined..."

Jia Meng, like a fanatical devotee, continued muttering to his god till his last breath.

Gray was indifferent to all this, not even glancing at the container that fell to the ground. He simply strode forward, impaling Jia Meng's heart with the Silence Sword, pinning him completely to the earth.