Endless Debt

In the year 1237 of the Rhenish calendar, the Order Bureau sublimated the furnace core.

The heavy gate slowly opened under the rotation of the machine, and the patterns carved on the gate were also shattered. The dry and hot breath overflowed from the split gate, as if the gate led to an underground volcano. .

The girl was wearing heavy protective clothing, her platinum hair was combed into a bun on the back of her head, her eyes were shining, and she was looking expectantly at the separated gate.

"You know the meaning of this pattern, Alice." Teda stood next to the girl, wearing the same heavy protective clothing.

"It is said that humans first lived in paradise on earth. However, under the instigation of poisonous snakes, humans stole the fruit of wisdom and were banished by God..." Alice said softly.

Every time she told this story and its connection with the pattern, some doubts would arise in Alice's heart. She didn't understand why the pattern that represented absolute rationality and the pursuit of knowledge actually originated from this mysterious mythological belief.

At this time, Teda reached out and patted Alice's shoulder gently, with a smile on his face.

"That's right, we alchemists are just that greedy poisonous snake, trying to steal God's knowledge and God's truth."

The gate was fully opened, and a wave of heat hit his face. Teda picked up the helmet, which had the same pattern printed on it, a poisonous snake wrapped around a fruit. It opened its big mouth in an attempt to eat the pulp of wisdom.

"Wear a helmet, it's not as gentle on the inside as it is on the outside."

Alice nodded, took the helmet from TEDA, and put it firmly on her head. The mechanical bite sounded, and it was completely integrated with the protective suit.

"Let's go. After you implant the alchemy matrix, this is where you will work."

Listening to Teda's words, Alice walked into the raging heat wave. A huge black silhouette emerged from behind the rising heat. Large swaths of red light were shed. There were constant harsh noises. The pipes were crawling around her sight like a group of snakes. every corner.

The vision gradually became clearer. Behind the gate, there were many people wearing protective suits like Alice walking. The sound of the radio echoed in the huge space. Mini trucks passed slowly, hauling heavy goods. The elevators moved along the The edges rise and fall, and if you follow them, you will find suspended corridors stretching overhead.

The most eye-catching thing is the reactor in the center. It is like a raised hill, and the firelight shining in it can be seen from the gaps in the machinery, as if it has imprisoned a blazing sun as an energy source, sending a steady stream of fireworks through it. Power pipe transmission out.

Alice watched all this with a bit of excitement in her eyes. After waiting for so many years, she finally came here and would become a member of this place and explore the end of the "Secret Source" together.

"Welcome to the Ascension Hearth."

Someone walked towards Alice, nodded to Teda, and welcomed Alice.

"Alice, these two are Bailey and Badr. They are both my students. Of course, you will also be considered my student from now on."

Teda introduced Alice. Unfortunately, both of them were wearing heavy protective clothing, and Alice could not see their appearance clearly. In the sublimation furnace core, everyone's appearance was hidden under their helmets, and only their chests could be identified. nameplate on the front.

"I often hear my father mention you, the most studious student and the most talented student."

Alice's eyes flashed back to the two of them. The most learned was Balder, and the most talented was Bailie.

"Alice Argentet."

She introduced herself and saluted the two of them. Restricted by the protective clothing, her movements seemed a bit clumsy, like a big swinging penguin.

"It's so cute. Is this the junior sister?"

Bailey rushed over. She was much taller than Alice, and she directly pulled Alice into her arms. Their heads touched each other through the helmet.

Alice accepted Bailie's enthusiasm calmly. She often heard Teda say that Bailie was an overly active child, while Balder was the opposite, silent and steady.

"I heard from the teacher before that you are a child who is more talented than me and more studious than Badr, right?"

Words could no longer express Bailey's joy. She directly touched Alice up and down through the protective suit, but all she touched was only the protective suit. Alice felt like a short tree with a happy monkey hanging on it.

"Yes, maybe my ability will be inherited by Alice in the end, so you'd better work harder for me."

Teda smiled and pushed Bailee away, and then said.

"It's only her first day here at Sublimation Furnace Core. Control yourself. You will have plenty of time to get along in the future."

Bailey reluctantly let go of Alice. In this place full of machinery and fireworks, apart from research, there were very few things that could arouse Bailey's interest. Now she looked at Alice as if she had seen New toys.

Badr remained silent as usual, and would only respond when TEDA asked him.

"Are you ready for the implantation ceremony?" Teda asked.

"It's ready. After all, it's junior sister who wants to use it. We have checked it carefully." Baili promised.

Alice followed them, looking around.

As the daughter of TEDA, Alice has been exposed to a large amount of extraordinary knowledge since she was a child, and has shown amazing talents. For this reason, TEDA has long regarded Alice as an alchemist and trained her under the education of the Minister of Sublimation Furnace Core. Next, Alice made rapid progress. When she was ten years old, she was able to refine and process "Mang Yin's Soul" on her own.

When TEDA was working, he often mentioned Alice to others. He even said that when Alice reaches the age where she can stand alone, maybe Alice can replace him and become the new Minister of Sublimation Furnace Core. At that time, TEDA can let go of these things. The tedious affairs, like previous ministers, are completely obsessed with research.

Therefore, this is not the first time that Bailie and Bader met Alice. They had heard of Alice's name as early as the teacher's endless admonitions. In easy-to-understand terms, Alice is "other people's family". 's children".

"But is it really okay to implant it in advance?" Badr questioned in a low voice.

In the research of alchemists, where the soul comes from is a mystery that has continued from ancient times to this day. Although no one can solve this mystery now, alchemists have still discovered some patterns in it.

When children are born, their souls are unstable, like a mist that is difficult to gather into shape. However, as they grow older, the souls of children will gradually become more stable. When a human being is eighteen years old, the soul will reach complete stability. The state is like soft soil turning into a hard foundation stone.

For this reason, they regard the age of eighteen as a sign of soul finalization and adulthood. Many implantation rituals will be performed when the implanted person reaches adulthood. However, in some ancient extraordinary families, they have extremely secret knowledge. Their implants It's different, but it's just an example.

Bader glanced at Alice behind him, and then asked, "She is only sixteen years old, and her soul has not yet been completely stabilized."

"You know? Badr, sometimes regulations have to make way for genius," TEDA said confidently, "What's more, I am responsible for the implantation ceremony, and I have the support of the sublimation furnace core."

The Minister of Sublimation Furnace Core is personally responsible for it, and the entire department provides support. This battle can no longer be described as luxurious, and even some extraordinary families find it difficult to achieve this level.

Bader nodded as if he had a sudden understanding. He knew that his character flaws were that he was always too cautious, which was completely opposite to Bailey's out-of-the-box personality. Therefore, TEDA often said that the two of them complement each other perfectly when working together.

With the teacher here and the whole sublimation furnace core here, there is nothing to worry about.

Teda also understood Badr's concerns. In fact, he had the same idea as Badr at first, but Alice couldn't wait any longer. She was tired of the knowledge Teda taught her, and she needed something deeper and more obscure. Difficult to understand.

This kind of knowledge only exists in the sublimation furnace core. Before entering the sublimation furnace core, she must first become a sublimator, join the Bureau of Order, become part of the secret school, and open the way to the "secret source".

Teda looked at Alice from time to time. He always felt that the girl would promote the history of the world and make the alchemists further understand the "secret source".

He thought like this, falling into wonderful expectations, but the piercing sound of the alarm shattered his dream in the next second, the alarm bell sounded loudly, and the dazzling red warning light flashed continuously.

Before a few people could figure out what happened, the "Kenshi" began to squirm violently, and emergency passage doors appeared out of thin air. After a brief panic, everyone stepped into the unknown door in accordance with the regulations.

For many people, this is the first time that the "Kenshi" has opened an emergency passage to the shelter. The same is true for TEDA. This is the first time this has happened since the establishment of the Order Bureau.

Everyone tried to stay calm, but the constant collapse of the "Kenshi" still caused panic in the crowd. Everyone knew how mysterious and powerful the "Kenshi" was, but even this seemingly unfallable fortress was under the influence of some kind of power. The army was defeated by the fierce attack.

The ether like a sea was withdrawn from the "Kenshi" and flowed somewhere like a siphon. Even the dense patterns on the bricks and stones dimmed. Without the support of the ether, they turned into ordinary stones and fell. Collapse.

The huge masonry crushed a large number of people, and screams continued while the blood was dripping. A large amount of ether was evacuated. In the ether vacuum environment, many facilities had operational problems, and some directly caused explosions.

The pillar of fire erupted, and the red-hot iron pieces swept across like a dense rain of bullets, cutting the flesh and blood in its path.

"Step aside!"

Badr yelled and pushed Bailee away. They were very close to the emergency exit. Bader pushed hard and Bailey fell directly next to the emergency exit. Then another explosion sounded, and the fierce fire engulfed Bader. .

A dim light flashed back on Badr's body. He also tried to activate the secret energy to protect himself, but when he tried to activate it, he found that his "moment soul criticality" had already been broken through, and there was no ether in his body.

What makes Badr even more frightened is that the entire sublimation furnace core is now under this absolute ether vacuum. Whether it is the ether in the sublimation person's body or the alchemy weapon, it seems that a tyrannical power has descended and plundered everything wantonly.

The protective suit that protects the body, which is essentially an alchemical weapon, begins to annihilate, itself collapsing as the aether within the matter is conscripted.

Badr felt that he was dead, and the hot fireworks were burning his body. When he was unconscious, a big hand reached into the sea of ​​​​fire and dragged him out.

"Let's go!"

TEDA roared and threw Badr out. Although he was just a scientific researcher, TEDA was also a real bearer of power. Under this brutal power, he still had the power to resist.

Badr hit the wall hard, and there were burns all over his body. Fortunately, the helmet did not break and protected his head. Bailey stretched out her hand and grabbed him. There was no need to say thank you now. She grabbed Badr rolled into the emergency exit.

TEDA gasped in pain. His ability to act under power also meant that he was always under pressure that was far beyond imagination. The high temperature swept through the sublimation furnace core, and the whole person seemed to be on the crater of a volcano. Every breath brought intense pain. Burning sensation.

"Are you okay? Alice."

Teda called out the girl's name. When the collapse occurred, he hugged Alice, and a bright light trail bloomed on his body. Driven by fantasy creations, the extreme cold dispelled the high temperature and resisted the incoming dangers.

Alice did not respond. She lay quietly on Teda's shoulder like a kitten. As the protective clothing was annihilated and broken little by little, her face was exposed.

Amid the roar of death, Alice's eyes were dull and empty, like a doll whose soul had been taken away.

She watched.

The violent power tore apart the "Kenshi" bit by bit. In the end of the world, a god-like figure emerged from the thunder of destruction. Under his power, everything collapsed.