Endless Debt

Bologg passed through the hazy and turbid darkness, and with Freya's crisp "ding-dong", like the subway arriving at the platform, a glimmer of light rose at the end of the darkness, and then the darkness surrounding Bologg was completely shattered.

His vision was confused for a few seconds, and then gradually became clear again. Boluogo looked around. Within a few breaths, he had left the House of the Rising Sun and arrived at another hidden place.

garden.

Deep in the Bureau of Order, the garden is of course not a colorful courtyard in the literal sense, but an experimental site built by Mamo and the elders of the Scholar Hall.

The dim dome covered the entire experimental field, and a series of steel arms extended out one after another, with tangled cables hung on them, like crazy giant vines. When the scholars built this place, they did not care about the aesthetics at all. It only pursues absolute practicality, and most of the complex mechanical internal structures are directly exposed to the air, like the internal organs that were cut open alive after the iron giant fell.

This was not the first time for Boluogo to come here. He passed through the layers of security gates with ease and arrived at the core of the experimental site. Among the busy scholars, Boluogo saw Mamo at a glance.

This rickety old scholar was now very different from the familiar appearance in Boluogo's previous memory.

Mamo was sitting in a large wheelchair. His body was riddled with various infusion tubes. In order to prolong Mamo's life as much as possible, a small trolley was dragged on the back of the wheelchair. , various extracorporeal maintenance equipment have been installed on it. According to the original design idea, even if Mamo only has one head left, these equipment can still allow him to survive for a few more hours and explain his funeral clearly.

Boluogo smiled and joked, "Hey, isn't this our king?"

King, this is the new name for Mamo in the garden. Firstly, he is the general person in charge here, and everyone must obey his instructions. Secondly, Mamo’s wheelchair is too heavy and too big. It's much like a moving throne.

"you are late."

Mamo was too lazy to pay attention to Boluogo's joke and snorted coldly.

Boluogo said, "Sorry, you also know that after becoming a Glorious One, there are too many troubles that I need to deal with."

As soon as the words changed, Boluogo asked concernedly, "Is your physical condition okay?"

"The ether concentration here is very high, and with these devices supporting life, I won't have any problems for the time being," Mamo calculated silently, "I should still be able to live for a few more years, and maybe I'll be lucky enough to witness the final moment."

The final moment is not a secret among the top management of the Bureau of Order. After all, this concept is the result of discussions among the top management.

"hope so."

Boluogo looked at Mamo's mutilated body, feeling a little unbearable in his heart.

When I first met Mamo, although Mamo was old and shabby, with his vitality and secret energy characteristics, compared with many old guys, Mamo was undoubtedly the most agile one.

For a long time, neither Boluogo nor Bailie regarded Mamo as an old man. Everyone thought that he could live forever, just like the eternal undead, but this stubborn idea , was completely changed during the Gray Tide Haze Incident.

In order to weaken the spread of gray tide haze to the greatest extent, Mamo wielded his remaining power of the Glorious One and barely neutralized the deadly toxin. This move made his already old body even more fragile, and In that surging wave, Mamo himself was also affected by the gray tide haze to a certain extent.

Mamo rested for a long time because of this. When he appeared in front of everyone again, everyone saw that he was old and exuded a thick aura of death.

But it was as if there was an obsession hanging on Mamo's life. Even though he had lost his appearance, he still had full energy and vitality, and he firmly refused to be connected to any life-support equipment. In Mamo's view, using life-sustaining equipment is a sign of shame and cowardice and a fear of death.

Mamo stubbornly insisted on all this until Bologo went deep into the ruins and brought back Freya.

Boluogo didn't know what kind of past relationship Mamo had with Freya, and Mamo had never mentioned these things, but Boluogo could feel that Mamo had extremely complicated emotions for Freya. , watching her join the decision-making room and gradually become active on the front line, Mamo seemed to be relieved, no longer being the stubborn little old man, but calmly accepted a series of arrangements for him in the decision-making room.

Since then, Mamo has sat on this funny throne, with a large number of life-support equipment connected to his body, seemingly extending his life, but also seeming to impose some kind of inhuman punishment on him.

After becoming a Glorious One, Bologo relied on his sophisticated control power to make a series of fine-tunings to Mamo's life-support equipment and himself.

Closing his eyes, Boluogo could see Mamo's complicated alchemical matrix, which resembled a miniaturization of mountains and rivers. These paths were still intact, completely different from the scarred Holt, but the body that carried the alchemical matrix was still intact. It is on the verge of collapse, and no matter how intact the alchemy matrix is, it will be difficult to exert its effect.

Body, mind, and spirit are a trinity, one of which is indispensable.

"Hopefully?"

Mamo repeated Boluogo's words and looked at him with cloudy eyes, "Are you pitying me? Boluogo."

"You have nothing to sympathize with," Bologg shook his head. "Very few mortals can live to your age. Rather than being sad, you should be happy and jumping for joy."

"Yes, that's right," Mamo agreed with Boluogo's words, "Every day is stolen from the hands of death, how can you be sad?"

Turning the operating lever on the armrest, the heavy wheelchair started to move towards the high platform in the center of the garden.

After several modifications and improvements, the appearance of the high platform has also changed a lot. Stepping on the solid metal, Boluogo felt unexpectedly at ease. This may be related to the fact that he was promoted as a defender here.

"I have already told Palmer about his promotion ceremony," Boluogo said as he walked. "You should prepare yourself. The actions of the Kogadel Empire require his presence."

"It's ready," Mamo responded. "According to the instructions of the decision-making room, various departments have been prepared to enter wartime mode. The alchemy materials we have hoarded in the past will be released in large quantities. The emergency promotion list of each employee , is also being drafted.”

Soldiers are the foundation of war, and sublime warriors are the cornerstone of extraordinary warfare. In order to prevent the worst future from happening, the top management of the Order Bureau has mobilized to expand the recruitment of field staff and carry out training for existing field staff with suitable conditions. Unconditional promotion.

This sounds pretty good. There is no need for accumulation of merit or years of service. Every Ninghua practitioner with the right conditions has the possibility of promotion. But under this glamorous appearance, there is a war that is approaching in great strides. .

In the catastrophe that has struck all mankind, no one can remain immune.

"We have also integrated many forces scattered outside the Rhine League," Mamo continued. "Some have already joined our temporary alliance, and some are still waiting to see, but no one refuses immediately."

"Where did you know this?"

Boluogo discovered that this old guy's intelligence was actually much more flexible than his own.

"Friya told me."

Mamo pressed the alarm on the armrest, and Freya floated up from the ground like a ghost. Like hospice care, the Freyas cared for Mamo around the clock.

"It seems that all the forces have realized that something is wrong," Bologo sighed. "This is a good thing. Without blood and death, everyone can reach a consensus."

Walking to the center of the high platform, Boluogo took off his coat, leaving only a white shirt on his body. The clothes were a little tight, which directly highlighted the lines of his muscles.

The concentration of ether in the garden is much higher than that in the outside world. The rich ether helps Mamo survive and allows his etheric body to further stretch. At the same time, this makes research much easier for scholars.

The concentration of ether determines the degree and difficulty of distorting reality.

Shrouded by the abundant ether, even if Boluogo did not actively release the secret energy, the alchemical matrix in his body still passively resonated with the ether, and dim paths spread across the body surface, leaving traces of tattoos like line drawings.

"Don't we need to do anything?"

While Mamo asked, he pressed the joystick and the wheelchair moved back a few meters, as if Bologo was a dangerous person and wanted to distance himself from him.

"No need," Bologg rolled up his sleeves, looking eager to try, "Isn't this experiment itself intended to verify whether the Glorious One can break through the material world alone by relying on his individual strength?"

As the ether flowed through his arm, Boluogo raised his hand and spread his palm, as if calling for something. A few seconds later, the sharp sound of metal galloping sounded.

I saw a metal spike coming through the air, and it was firmly grasped by Boluogo.

Holding the long nail horizontally in front of him, Boluogo took a brief look at it. The total length of the long nail was just over one meter. It looked like it was cast with a mold. There were no unnecessary decorations on the whole, and the metal showed a kind of The color is pitch black, but through the reflection of the shimmering light, a faint tint similar to roasted blue can be seen in this pitch black.

Boluogo tried to inject his own ether into it, but just like he had tried before, a powerful repulsive force came from the spike, and even the mighty power of the Glorious One could not infringe upon it.

Reality anchor.

It was jointly developed by the Hall of Scholars and the Monks of Truth. It was an alchemical weapon imitated from immutable metal and had the characteristics of "absolute reality". The member of the Order of Truth, Duva, whom Boluogo met during his trip to the Happy Garden, was responsible for its main projects.

However, what makes Boluogo a little confused is that it is said to be an alchemical weapon, but because of its absolutely realistic characteristics, it cannot be implanted with any alchemical matrix. However, if it is said to be not an alchemical weapon, it does have absolutely realistic characteristics. characteristic.

This sounds a bit circuitous, just like the ability to stabilize reality, which can also be regarded as a kind of extraordinary ability.

Holding the anchor of the real world tightly, Bologo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In an instant, the power of the Glorious One was released without restraint. The majestic ether stamped in all directions, setting off wisps of strong wind and making Mamo's heavy wheelchair tremble. Non-stop.

Mamo retreated a certain distance wisely, and other scholars also activated the equipment on the high platform, and spiers stood around it, but they were not to assist Bologo, but to restrain his ether to prevent the power of the Glorious One from affecting him. The garden creates havoc.

Following that familiar feeling, Boluogo guided his own ether to surge according to the established path, and then triggered a miraculous power that could change reality.

Etheric Siphon.

In an instant, high-concentration ether accumulated around Boluogo. As they gradually climbed up, the crisp sound of glass breaking continued, as if a hailstorm had fallen on the ground, shattering the crystal into pieces.

Bologg opened his eyes, and the high concentration of ether overwhelmed reality, carving a hole in the material world that could only accommodate Bologg. The metal ground under his feet had long since disappeared, replaced by an ice field covered with snow and dust.

Reality tore apart bit by bit, and massive amounts of ether poured out from the cracks where Boluogo was crushed. Boluogo took one last look at Mamo not far away. He gathered the ether and condensed it into himself.

Reality collapses, penetrating both worlds.

The ether surged in all directions, and the snow dust from the ether realm roared out, like a snowstorm passing through the garden. Whether it was guardrails, brackets, or cables, they were all covered with a thick layer of frost.

When the turbulence stopped, Boluogo's figure had disappeared, leaving only a blue crack in the place. This was not a winding crack, but a passage between the material world and the etheric world. It twisted and stretched. , releasing dazzling light and twisted ripples, like a beam of lightning frozen in place by extreme cold.

Crystal clear and bright.

Bologo succeeded. The ether siphon in an instant successfully overwhelmed reality, causing the two worlds to briefly overlap.

Mamo was very calm about this, and there was no sense of excitement in his eyes. This was not the first time that Bologg tried to travel between the two worlds. Before today, Bologg had already tried to step into the ether several times. world, and every time he succeeded.

In addition to relying on Bologo's sophisticated etheric control, another point is the gradual overlap of the material world and the etheric world, which has already blurred the boundaries between the two worlds.

But this experiment is still somewhat different from the previous one. In the previous attempt, Boluogo only opened the channel to the etheric world, but never stepped into it.

For scholars, it is easy to enter the etheric realm, but it is much more difficult to escape. Many experiments have recorded that only during the promotion ceremony, there will be a short and stable channel for the sublimation person to enter and exit.

"Is this considered a success?"

Mamo's eyes fell on the frozen lightning. In the solidified dazzling light, the dark anchor of reality pierced into the core. The end of the spike extended from the lightning, but its front end did not pierce from the lightning. out, but disappeared out of thin air.

It hasn't gone away.

The end of the world anchor remains in the material world, and the front end pierces into the etheric world. With the characteristics of absolute reality, it prevents the separation of the etheric world and the material world, like an unhealable wound, penetrating Two realms.

In the ethereal realm, Boluogo looked back at the lightning frozen on the ice field. The dark nail heads pierced out, with no end in sight.