Endless Debt

Pushing the door open, the usually crowded office was unexpectedly empty, with neither Lebius nor Geoffrey present, and even Yuriel was nowhere to be seen.

Aimou remarked in surprise, "Huh? No one's here."

Lebius' workaholic reputation was deeply ingrained in everyone, making this place feel like a convenience store open 24/7, where you could always find someone if you pushed the door open.

Bologue followed from behind, and seeing this, he said nothing, turned, and walked into the adjacent lounge. He flopped down on the sofa, closed his eyes, and lay flat on the couch.

The scenes from the cinema flashed relentlessly in his mind, and the rough, jarring metallic sounds echoed in his ears. Bologue tried hard to calm his mind, but the more he tried, the more he was engulfed in a flood of thoughts, unable to extricate himself.

"Ah..."

Bologue held his head and curled up into a ball, nestled on the sofa.

This lasted for a few minutes before Bologue somewhat relaxed. This was one of the skills he had honed in the Black Prison; he excelled at adjusting his mindset to bring himself into a state of tranquility.

Opening his eyes, Aimou stood silently nearby, as if she had been there all along.

"Feeling any better now?"

Aimou asked, "You seem a bit off today."

Bologue weakly responded, "Really?"

"Yes."

Aimou recalled their earlier meeting, "This morning, you were standing at the door with a blank expression, not responding no matter how I called, as if your soul had left your body."

Bologue was momentarily stunned and glanced at the clock in the lounge. He had spent at least a dozen hours in the cinema watching Belphegor's lengthy film, but only... a few minutes had passed outside.

Glancing at the sun imprint on his palm, Bologue muttered, "An out-of-body experience? Perhaps."

It was only then that Bologue belatedly realized the difference in time flow between the cinema and the outside world. After a brief shock, he easily accepted it all.

In the Alchemists' research, the Void Realm could not only be expanded on a spatial level but also manipulated on a temporal level. However, reality distortion to such a degree faced technical limitations, and no Alchemist had yet succeeded in creating such a Void Realm.

But if shaped by the Devil, it wasn't impossible.

This didn't trouble Bologue for long, as what happened today couldn't compare to the shock of Belphegor's words, "What if the Devil died?"

The Devil could die too.

Bologue felt a sense in the midst of it all that Belphegor was neither joking nor proposing a hypothesis.

Among Belphegor's countless lies, Bologue believed this was an absolutely true statement.

The Devil could be killed.

Bologue sat up straight, murmuring to himself, "Is this also the Devil's way of toying with minds?"

Belphegor deliberately said it to Bologue, planting a seed of desire in his heart. This seed would take root and grow from Bologue's experiences until it broke through the surface.

For the rest of his life, Bologue would unceasingly pursue the truth about the Devils, seeking to end it all because of this nightmarish statement...

While they looked down from above the sky, watching his ludicrous efforts.

"Bologue?"

Aimou's voice called out again, pulling Bologue back from his wild thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

Aimou grew increasingly worried about Bologue. Having known him for so long, it was the first time she'd seen him like this, thoughts overflowing from his eyes.

"It's nothing, just thinking too much as usual."

Bologue quickly adjusted, just as the lounge door was flung open by Palmer, who appeared outside looking puzzled.

"Where is everyone?"

It was clear that Palmer was also surprised by the empty office.

Bologue and Aimou both shook their heads.

After waiting for a while, they met up with Yuriel, who said that this morning, Lebius and Geoffrey had hurriedly left without leaving any instructions. It seemed that once they finished their tasks, they could wrap up for the day.

The Field Operations Department had this advantage; when there were no assignments, it was incredibly leisurely. However, such moments were rare, as the daily norm was running around various places, engaging in life-and-death struggles with all kinds of people.

Hearing this, Palmer immediately collapsed onto the lounge's sofa, falling into a deep sleep. He never missed an opportunity to be a slacker, a trait Bologue was willing to call him an expert in.

Bologue still had things to do. He wrote up the report for the Zongge Orchestra and placed it on Lebius's desk, awaiting his review.

Thanks to Belphegor's interruption, Bologue understood more about the existence of this peculiar group and no longer needed to question Nesanel about it.

Then he patiently awaited feedback from the Logistics Department, hoping Marion had recovered the Phantom Dagger for him.

Hmm... Phantom Dagger.

Bologue looked at Aimou beside him, "Speaking of which... it's been a while since we last met, Aimou."

Since returning from Wind Source Highlands, the few of them resumed their busy schedules. Due to different agendas, their times often overlapped and they rarely met.

Aimou nodded, "Yeah, I have a day off today, so I came to check this out, after all, I'm a member of the group too."

Aimou is a member of the Special Operations Group, but has been long borrowed by Belli. Under Belli's hands-on teaching, Aimou's Alchemy Technology has advanced rapidly, and at the same time, the equipment supply for the Special Operations Group has noticeably improved.

Whenever Geoffrey sees Aimou, he always has a look of deep sighs. Geoffrey is very grateful for Aimou's presence, in every sense.

Bologue asked, "Hmm... Aimou, you've also seen the alchemy armament, Phantom Dagger. Do you think it can be further optimized?"

"What kind of optimization are you referring to?"

"For example, changing its effect to some extent, making it not just spatial displacement, but also allowing the user to shuttle along the curved path to its vicinity?"

Bologue tried to describe the effect he wanted.

Aimou pondered in silence. During this time, Aimou hadn't stopped updating herself. Now when Aimou is deep in thought, the halo in her eyes turns into a rectangular outline, gradually filled with light over time.

In Aimou's own words, she calls this effect the "progress bar."

After the progress bar filled up four times, Aimou stopped thinking, "I'm not really sure, after all, the target of the operation is the curved path."

The curved path, which means space, is a mysterious power not yet completely mastered by alchemists. The power of the curved path is full of unpredictability.

For this reason, alchemists even take the ability to drive the power of the curved path as a standard for rating their capabilities. Those Alchemy Masters possess abilities to shape the curved path to some extent, thus owning the technology to construct the Void Realm.

Aimou is far from this level right now; her understanding of the curved path is still in the entry stage.

Bologue nodded, "Is that so? Then I'll ask Belli later."

Belli is somewhat proud. She never rejects her own requirements but without letting them be achieved smoothly, always adding some hurdles in between to test herself.

Aimou thought for a while, gritting her teeth, "Actually... I can try?"

"Oh? Can you really?"

"Are you underestimating me?"

The brightness of the halo in Aimou's eyes increased while the icon turned into a warning symbol.

Bologue scrutinized Aimou; not having seen her for a few days, he wondered how many updates Aimou had applied to herself, and why they were all in such odd places.

"Is there more?"

Bologue suddenly leaned closer, observing Aimou's eyes.

"Huh? Is there... anything else?"

"The icon in your eyes, what kind of updates have you made to yourself?"

"Ah... this... wait a minute."

Aimou stepped back a bit, maintaining distance from Bologue, eyes downcast, looking at the ground.

"It's okay, Aimou."

Aimou internally mused, "This guy just wants to see it, purely out of curiosity."

Bologue is straightforward, without any twists and turns, a pragmatist. Essentially, he's a pure person entirely made up of work and few hobbies.

During this time, Aimou has deeply understood this. Bologue just wants to see the icon's variations, really out of mere curiosity, without any other distortions.

Aimou lifted her head, a myriad of dynamic icons flashed through her eyes; most were to express emotions, while some Aimou just found aesthetically pleasing without any significance.

Among them, what caught Bologue's attention was an ellipsis icon, horizontally arranged dots disappearing one by one and then reappearing.

"What does this mean?"

"Ah... standby mode, or... zoning out?"

"You specifically made an icon to indicate you're zoning out!"

Bologue's voice rose, then enviously said, "That's amazing."

"Huh?"

"I want to make one too."

"Ah!"