Endless Debt Chapter 1391 - 5: Tearing Through Reality

Lebius briefly flipped through the application documents Bologue handed to him, raised his eyebrows, and sighed softly, "Hmm... promotion to Defender, should I say this was within my expectations?"

Bologue sat on the other side of the desk, upright and solemn. Even though Bologue now served as the leader of the Special Operations Group, he still held great respect for his predecessor Lebius.

"After going through all these events, I’ve realized I desperately need more formidable power to contend with increasingly complex battle situations."

Bologue spoke rationally; in his words, Bologue was not seeking power but looking for the capability to combat calamity.

Throughout, Bologue never succumbed to the allure of power.

"I know, you don’t need to say so much, just like I would refuse anyway."

Lebius picked up his stamp and forcefully pressed a red mark onto Bologue’s documents before handing them back to him.

"Then, let me congratulate you on your promotion to Defender, Bologue." Lebius smiled at Bologue.

During the Decline Plague event, Lebius ended up severely injured, with some limbs paralyzed, but thanks to the adaptability of Secret Energy, it didn’t greatly affect their life.

Lebius was not mentally depressed. In contrast, since Red Dog’s death, years of hatred had dissolved, and now Lebius appeared much more cheerful than before.

Over the years, Bologue and Lebius could be considered old friends, and Bologue had witnessed his changes.

"Defender..."

Lebius murmured the phrase, leaning back with a relaxed posture.

He reminisced, "Time flies, Bologue. It feels like yesterday you were an intern who knew nothing, and today you’ve become a Defender."

"That’s how time is, blurring the monotonous repetitions, so when we look back, everything seems to have passed so quickly."

Bologue felt the same way; if life were a movie, then most of life would consist of fleeting montages.

The two exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly. Bologue stood up, took the documents, and bid farewell to Lebius, "I’ll go find Mamo now."

"Alright."

Bologue turned and left, the silent corridor only inhabited by him as he proceeded alone. He had walked this path countless times, and unless the Cultivation Room had recent layout changes, Bologue could traverse this route blindfolded.

Arriving at the Pillar Courtyard, he took the elevator to the Sublimation Furnace Core, brushing past many researchers in the hot air and greeting several Furya along the way.

Thanks to the collaboration between Furya and the Cultivation Room, part of the Sublimation Furnace Core was already connected to the Ruins District. The researchers were trying to extend pipelines from Forge Furnace Volcano to the current Sublimation Furnace Core to power future research.

Amid the bustle, Bologue zigzagged through layers of clearance checks before reaching the depths of the Sublimation Furnace Core.

In the dim space, countless cables hung suspended like tangled vines. The metallic ground was covered with massive facilities, all open with complex internal structures visible.

Arcs of electricity several meters long burst and extinguished in the darkness, sending sparks crackling downward.

This was Mamo’s garden, literally, a garden.

Since Bologue successfully explored the Ethereal Realm, Mamo had gathered the old scholars of the Scholars’ Hall to establish this place, responsible for extensive research on the Ethereal Realm.

With a sharp whistling sound, the machinery around began to operate, and Bologue felt the giant Ethereal Amount converging here, illuminating the darkness with brilliant golden light, making the garden glisten brightly.

High concentrations of ether crystallized mid-air into droplets of gold, pausing for several seconds before gently raining down.

In the slightly damp air, Bologue ascended the steps to see the vague figure lying in the iron chair, and also saw Mamo, Aimou, Belli, and a group of Furya gathered quietly, all watching in anticipation.

This was a promotion ceremony, judging from the Ether intensity, likely a promotion from Condenser to Prayer Believer.

Bologue moved silently forward, having observed several promotion ceremonies before, but this time the ceremony was different. With increasing Ether density, metallic spikes resembling lightning rods emerged, encircling the iron chair as if conducting some unknown ritual and offering.

Suddenly, Bologue felt a strange sense of dislocation. He gazed at his arm, commanded it to raise, and indeed his command conveyed to the arm, lifting it fully. Yet where it paused, a faint blue afterimage lingered.

Not just Bologue; anyone present would leave a streak of afterimages along their movement path at the slightest motion. Meanwhile, Bologue discovered the sounds he heard growing blurred, as if he were immersed in a water pool.

An inexplicable ethereal sensation enveloped his mind, followed by a stirring unease, as though something was about to come.

Blinding arcs bounced between the metallic spikes, linked together to form dazzling electric circles, drawing the surrounding ether toward the sky to form a liquid Ethereal Ball with a diameter of several meters.