Endless Debt

From the moment Nethaniel walked out of the ether overlap point, the hunt for him naturally came to an end. At this time, look at the corpses that Nethaniel brought out... those corpses that failed to be brought out. Woolen cloth? Was it completely annihilated into ashes, with not even a few concrete forms left?

Unspeakable oppression and despair came. From this moment on, the situation of the war was completely reversed, and developed in a direction that was beyond the control of the Mysteries.

Some were trembling, some were stagnant in place, some were overwhelmed by reason and let out meaningless roars, and some were kneeling on the ground weakly, their eyes filled with blazing pure white.

In order to assassinate Nethaniel, the Secret Group spent all their efforts. They not only dispatched the Glory Ones, but also joined forces with the Night Clan to carry the power of the Aurora and make use of the overlap between the ethereal world and the material world...

Everything they imagined was so beautiful. In their plan, Nethaniel would be killed thousands of times in that extraordinary realm. They imagined the world after Nethaniel's death, but they never thought about it. What if you fail to kill Nethaniel?

In fact, everyone knows what will happen to them once they fail to kill Nethaniel, but no one will talk about these things. It is even said that in the group of secrets, the idea of ​​such failure is a taboo. .

The group of secrets cannot lose, for the sake of the supreme concept of the condenser, for the perfect world in their hearts, for their own interests, goals, and ideals, no matter what they do.

They absolutely couldn't lose, but they still lost.

"Nai...Naisa..."

Someone called out the name of the balrog in fear. Before he could pronounce the forbidden full name, Nathaniel walked down the steps, and a wave of heat hit him, completely covering the man.

In just an instant, the high temperature burned away his skin and clothes, and his flesh and blood quickly shriveled and shriveled. The despair and terror on his face were like shaped pottery, frozen forever in the fireworks.

Nethaniel moved on.

The pure ether distorts reality and creates deadly heat. The accumulated heat condenses together and turns into burning fireworks. The fireworks continue to concentrate and gather, bursting out into absolute, blazing light.

Day has fallen.

The intense light carries a huge amount of heat, bombarding all directions indiscriminately.

People are burning, the air is burning, the ground is burning, buildings are burning, ether is burning, everything seems to be covered with a layer of orange-red filter, the world is burning, the heat wave breathes, blowing out fleeting sparks.

All the condensers present were burned into charcoal, and the gray-black and shriveled corpses slowly deformed in the high temperature. As if worshiping the gods, they all knelt down and lowered their heads.

Nethaniel stared straight ahead, never paying attention to any corpse or caring about any casualties. As early as when he saw the first Night Tribe in the Hidden Land, his heart was as cold as iron. .

When Nethaniel completely stepped out of the overlapping point, he lost the support of his power, and the connection between the material world and the etheric world continued to become thinner.

At the moment when the two worlds were completely separated and returned to normal, bursts of frightening restlessness came from the depths of the etheric world. It seemed that something was trying to cross the two worlds. It was furious and roaring, chasing Nesani. you.

A wisp of absolute darkness emerged from the light, and the black multiplied rapidly like a virus, swallowing up the light in the blink of an eye, leaving only darkness facing Nethanil.

Without the separation of the world, the darkness completely showed its true appearance.

It is not simply the darkness of the night, nor is it darkness in any conventional cognition, but a "color" that is beyond ordinary people's understanding and outside the laws of reality.

Nothing can penetrate this pitch black. Under it, all light is ruthlessly swallowed, all colors are crazily distorted, and no sound can escape the swallowing of this pitch black, no matter how loud it is, They will all be ruthlessly absorbed by this curtain of chaos, leaving only silent silence.

In the absolute silence, strange and deep murmurs rose directly in Nathaniel's mind, and the sound echoed, as if thousands of dead souls were lingering around him, whispering.

The voice was hoarse and distorted, and he spoke obscure words that Nathaniel couldn't understand, but he understood that they should all be curse words for himself.

Nathaniel took a deep breath. It was clear that the surrounding temperature had been heated to the extreme, but he felt that he had taken a breath of icy cold air, and there was a needle-like pain in his respiratory tract.

Under the darkness, his own light and heat were fading rapidly, completely suppressing his own power.

No...Nathaniel was not suppressed, he just couldn't feel their presence.

The darkness is strange and real, as if it has its own life and consciousness. It squirms and trembles, as if it is breathing. The edge of the darkness twists in the light like liquid metal, spreading out a hazy light, but always remaining untouchable. Mysterious.

That is an evil that should not exist in this world, but now, it has arrived here by crossing two realms.

"Nathaniel..."

the voice called.

Nathaniel stared straight into the darkness. He could not see anything from it, but he understood that something was advancing in the darkness, striding towards him.

"Nathaniel..."

It continued to shout, the prisoner who should have died in the darkness, but escaped.

"I'm right here."

Nethaniel spoke, and the words disappeared into the dark silence. He was not sure whether the other party heard him.

"It's so disgustingly dark."

Nathaniel said to himself that he had already seen the horror of this darkness as early as in the etheric realm.

Darkness is like a door, a door leading to a world of madness and chaos.

Behind the door, countless unknown forces and dimensions are intertwined with each other. Various strange phenomena beyond human understanding emerge one after another. Time and space are chaotic here, and there is no boundary between reality and dreams.

Anyone who steps into this darkness will feel that their own existence has been challenged, and they will even begin to doubt the authenticity of self-awareness. In the absolute deathly silence, all lives will feel fear and despair.

Even Nethanil felt a little shaken in the confrontation with him, feeling extremely lonely and helpless in front of this boundless darkness.

He made it through.

Since the Secret War and the Plague of Decline incident, this should be the most difficult battle that Nessanir has fought. While enduring the invasion of darkness, he also has to find a way to kill those three people.

Nathaniel did it, and the price was extremely high.

Lowering his head, he saw a ferocious penetrating wound on Nethaniel's chest. As long as it was moved a little further, it could break Nethaniel's heart. The wound exuded pure etheric light. They Swaying like a blazing fire.

Relying on the etherification of the Glorious One, Nethaniel withstood this fatal blow and did not die. However, a ferocious scar had already crossed the boundary of flesh and blood and was reflected on his alchemical matrix.

The cruel soul scar almost severed his alchemical matrix.

Nathaniel coughed several times in pain, and there was a flaw in his strong and prosperous posture. The brightly burning day also seemed much lonely, like a dying sunset.

But the setting sun is still scorching.

"It seems that I can't defeat you." Nathaniel said calmly to the darkness.

There was a sound in the darkness, and Nethaniel wasn't sure if it was transmitted or if it sounded directly in his mind.

It was a distorted, turbid, and unidentifiable sound, like thousands of morbid melodies entangled together, forming an intolerable noise.

The sound first sounded from the deepest part of the abyss, like a huge, old, rusty bellows, unfolding in a dull beating sound.

Every inhalation sound is like a raging wind, rolling in the winter snowstorm, sharp and cold across the night sky, with a harsh whistle, every exhalation sound is like a heavy step, tired The unbearable traveler let out a dull and long sigh.

Nathaniel finally heard the voice clearly.

"Nathaniel...you can't do it..."

It was as if the God of Death was announcing the end of Nathaniel's fate.

"I know," Nathaniel said nonchalantly, "I know there are some things I can't do even at all costs, but... just because I can't do it doesn't mean others can't do it."

"Don't underestimate humans, Your Majesty."

Darkness covered most of the space, and just when it was about to swallow Nethanil completely, its spread suddenly stopped, as if invisible chains were tying it up one after another. This power was at the top of everything. , even this light-eating darkness must obey.

The darkness roared unwillingly, but no matter how much it resisted, it was unable to struggle in the end.

Then the darkness receded like a tide.

"Also, it's an honor to fight with you," Nathaniel paused and continued, "I can't kill you, but I think someone must be able to grant you merciful relief."

He clutched the injury on his chest and mocked with a laugh while coughing.

"That future is no longer far away, Your Majesty the Night King."

The words echoed and disappeared into the etheric realm together with the shrinking darkness. The two realms were completely separated, and the cornerstone of reality returned to stability, as if nothing had happened.

Nathaniel's breathing gradually became rougher, and he released the secret energy, so that this furnace-like space finally found some relief.

The aether furnace was running overheated. It was hard to imagine what would happen next if Nethanil continued to heat up.

The crisis was temporarily resolved, and the tense nerves inevitably relaxed. For a while, Nathanil felt extremely tired, and even his vision became blurred.

He staggered to the ether furnace and sat down with his back against the hot steel. Nathaniel closed his eyes and used all his energy to mend the wounds on his chest. At the same time, his perception was spread out as much as possible, like a The big net is aware of the surrounding movements.

Soon, a familiar etheric reaction came from the boundary of perception.

…

On the way being escorted, Holt had no idea what the Secret Group was plotting. The team members were separated one by one according to their rank and walked to different floors. Therefore, when he arrived at the center of the nest, only He was left alone, with the two dukes who followed him.

The honeycomb with an inverted triangular structure was very close at hand. In the translucent gel, there were figures curled up one after another. They squirmed gently, like huge maggots, which made Holt feel sick.

Under this inverted triangle, in a blur of blue, a woman lazily stood up from her chair. She seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time.

"Except for one defender and one power bearer who are escaping, everyone else is under control." Duke Origin stepped forward and took the lead in explaining.

"We have sent a team to hunt him down, but there is no result yet." Duke Spirit God continued.

Boluogo and Palmer caused quite a mess in the Hidden Land. If it weren't for the purpose of controlling Holt and his party, the furious Duke of Origin would have planned to do it himself.

Xiti said "Yeah". Long before the two came back, she had learned about these changes through the Aurora Road shrouded in the hidden land.

She also knew that Boluogo and his party had arrived at the bottom of the forging pit, where the team sent by Duke Origin was fighting with them.

"They have arrived at the bottom of the forging pit. Go and arrest them personally," Xiti ordered the Duke of Origin. "They can no longer be tolerated to cause more damage, and..."

Xiti didn't say what she said after that, but both she and Duke Origin knew what was deep in the bottom of the forging pit. Although her face has been torn apart, Xiti doesn't want to expose this yet.

"Declare the Hidden Land to be in a state of emergency, launch virtual domain protection, and be alert to the movements of Outpost No. 46." She then said to Duke Spiritual God.

After capturing Borogo and dealing with Holt and his party, all Xiti needs is to wait for the end of the hunt for Nethaniel. Once Nethaniel dies, the relationship between the Hidden Land and the Bureau of Order will be the same as the comprehensive one. There is no difference between declaring war. At this time, Outpost No. 46 will become the frontline base of the war. She must find a way to survive the early stages of the war.

As long as they can withstand the short-term anger of the Bureau of Order and the pressure brought by the disobedient royal court and other forces, the Bureau of Order will inevitably be exhausted, and then they will eat and dismantle the behemoth of the Bureau of Order bit by bit like a pack of wolves. .

The empire of Eternal Night will rise again, and the era of supremacy of the Sublime Ones will also come. From then on, they no longer need to hide in this remote mountain, but will be like true gods, above all mortals.

The Duke of Origin did not have the right to refuse. This was his fault. In addition, Boluogo was like a gopher, drilling holes into the hidden soil. He immediately turned around and left.

Holt looked at the direction where Duke Origin was leaving, thoughtfully.

"I'm curious, what exactly do you want to do?"

Holt looked very calm and calm, as if he was not a prisoner or prisoner at all, but a messenger ready to hold Xi accountable.

"For a better world."

Siti answered naturally. She seemed to be very patient and interested in explaining her ideal world to Holt.

"A better world?" Holt wondered for a moment, "What does that look like?"

"A new world full of miracles," Xiti imagined. "The ether technology that transcends the times will make the Sublimators no longer limited to the constraints of gravity. We will reach the stars. Similarly, the realm of immortality will continue to expand. , in this paradise, all of us condensers will enjoy endless life."

Holt said, "I noticed some emphasis in your words...you were referring to the Sublime Ones."

"Of course, do you want to make things easier for mortals?"

Siti walked towards Holt gracefully, she complained in a low voice, "I have never understood one thing about the Bureau of Order, which is why you care so much about the survival of mortals. You should understand the evolution of living things, right?"

"Very basic knowledge." Holt nodded.

"In my opinion, the Sublime Ones are the next generation of human evolution, and ordinary mortals should obey the laws and be eliminated by evolution."

"In other words, is your concept of the supremacy of the Condenser more like a favor for power? Whoever is powerful is correct, and it has nothing to do with justice, legality, or ethics."

Siti did not respond to Holt’s words, but

He looked him up and down, feeling the etheric fluctuations coming from Holt's body under the layers of confinement.

"Basekeeper? Just enough," she said.

"For what?"

"You really have a lot of questions." Xiti frowned.

"If nothing else happens, I probably won't be able to get out of here alive," Holt said. "People will inevitably want to know the direction of their own destiny so that they can prepare."

"What's the direction of fate?"

Xiti chuckled twice without any intention of explaining.

The radiance of ether shines from Xiti's body, and the complicated alchemical matrix spreads with it. There is no need to feel the intensity of ether, just by looking at the dazzling lines on Xiti's body, you can know her rank.

The glorious one.

It's a pity that he is an old-fashioned glory man.

"speaker."

Xiti raised her head and said.

With the arousal of the ether and the inquiry of the voice, the figures in the crystal honeycomb squirmed more violently, and a sticky and weird sound sounded, as if someone was vigorously kneading the soil, with a sticky and wet feeling.

The crystal honeycomb cracked open in a cross shape, and in the blue light, Holt saw fruits stacked and beating like hearts, and a face embedded in the fruits.

The pulp around the face seemed to be living tissue, constantly squirming and twisting, as if struggling painfully. The roots were like blue veins, piercing deeply into the face, but the face itself was expressionless, as if everything All the joy, anger, sorrow and joy have been stripped away by the years, leaving only a kind of indifference that transcends life and death.

He stretched out his curled up body little by little. It was an extremely shriveled body, and countless fruits hung tightly around his neck like circles, covering his chest and back.

The Speaker lowered little by little, standing in front of Holt with his rugged body, looking so weak that it seemed that Holt could blow his head off with a headbutt.

"speaker……"

Before Xiti could say anything, the speaker raised his hand to stop her, and then asked, "Where is Fabien?"

"He and Osana were temporarily expelled," Xiti explained after hesitating. "In such a critical situation, we can only temporarily exclude these truth sects. Besides..."

Siti paused for a moment, then plucked up the courage and said, "I don't think anyone can escape the prying eyes of the Aurora Road and avoid our pursuit. If Boluogo and Palmer can escape, they must have the help of the Truth Sect."

"Well... let's get started."

The Speaker's speech was very slow, and even his movements were the same.

Holt was convinced that the person in front of him had spent an extremely long time. He was also sure that this person was not a debtor, and he did not know what methods he used to extend his life.

Suddenly, Holt noticed the fruits on the speaker. At first, Holt did not connect them with the thing he imagined. After all, that kind of thing was too precious, but as the speaker got closer, Holt I am very sure that those fruits are what I guessed.

Utopian seeds.

This bastard turned himself into a fantasy tree, and his body was covered with the fruits of fantasy. So relying on these cherished existences, it seems that it is not a delusion for him to live for thousands of years.

The Speaker raised his hand, his arm surrounded by a layer of brilliant aurora. He tried to touch Holt's forehead, but Holt did not shy away and stood straight on the spot.

Suddenly, the speaker's movements stopped, and at this moment, Holt noticed that for the first time, his expression changed on his stiff and cold face.

Doubt, uneasiness, and... panic.

"Nathaniel wins."

Under the speaker's calm voice, there was a storm.

Holt was confused. He couldn't understand what the speaker was saying at all. Siti and Duke Spirit God were completely stunned. In their eyes, it was an absolute dead end. Nathaniel stepped from the arrogant ground. Death is already doomed from the moment he enters this place, how can he win?

How could it be possible to break through the siege of both sides, and even break out of the siege with the help of the Night King?

Xiti couldn't understand, and then words that made her even more shocked came from the speaker's mouth.

"Girou is dead, everyone is dead, that place has turned into purgatory, and only Nethaniel is left there," the speaker maintained a cold tone and said to the Duke of Spirit God, "Nethaniel It is impossible to break through the siege without losing a drop of blood. He is injured and this is the last chance to kill him."

The speaker seemed to have not spoken for a long time. His voice was dry and stiff, and his logic was machine-like and cold.

"Kill...kill him?" Duke Spirit God swallowed, "But what if...he wasn't injured?"

"Then hold him back and let me pick another fruit, and then...then let me face him personally," the Speaker stared into Duke Spirit God's eyes, "This is an order, not a request."

Duke Spiritual God was silent for a while, restrained the fear in his heart, turned around with difficulty, and left the center of the nest. He knew that if he disobeyed the Speaker's order, he would become the next fruit to be picked. After all, this was a group of secrets, and high-level condensers were just another form of resource.

"It sounds like your plot has been shattered."

No matter how dull Holt was, he understood what happened from this few words. He smiled wildly, not caring about the danger of his situation.

"Fruit? It sounds like you want to make me into a fantasy species?" Holt continued to ask, "I'm not from the fantasy school, you can't do it."

"There's nothing you can't do, as long as you have enough strength and the illusion of breaking the shackles." The Speaker raised his hand again and slowly pointed at Holt's forehead.

"oh?"

Holt looked fearless, like a curious child, and asked again, "You are the Speaker, which means you are the nerve center of the Secret Group?"

The Speaker ignored Holt. Like Xiti, he was very irritated by this talkative guy and just wanted him to shut up as soon as possible.

Mobilize the ether, release the secret energy, connect the consciousness to the hive, and start the transformation ritual... The speaker is already very proficient in this process, but suddenly, his forward arm stopped, as if there was some invisible wall blocking his way. , separated him from Holt.

"So... as long as I kill you, I can completely paralyze the group of secrets, right?"

As Holt spoke, there was a glint in his eyes, and a series of shattering sounds came from all around him. The shackles that imprisoned him collapsed one by one, turning into pieces of metal fragments that clattered to the ground.

Perhaps there were too many accidents today, but Xiti calmly accepted this situation. Then she roared and released her secret power. Crazy phantoms suddenly appeared out of thin air, and the Speaker also burst out. There was a strong etheric reaction, but their power seemed a bit mediocre and boring in front of Holt, a rising star.

Holt calmly took off the shackles of the collar around his neck, and the mighty power belonging to the Glorious One burst out and roared from the alchemy matrix.