With consciousness awakening, the sound of purring resonated in his ears, Bologue opened his eyes, without lifting his head, he could see the black cat nestled on his chest.
Perhaps because no newcomers had arrived for quite a while, during the days Bologue stayed at the Undying Club, Wei’Er was very clingy, even if he ushered her out of the room, she would always be by his side when he woke up.
Bologue sat up from the bed, carefully moved Wei’Er aside, within the Undying Club, there were few people Bologue respected, and Wei’Er was one of them.
It was not that Wei’Er was particularly strong or knowledgeable, but among this group of oddities, Wei’Er counted as one of the few normal cats.
Getting out of bed, out of caution towards the other members of the Undying Club, Bologue never dared to sleep naked here, each time he slept he would only remove his outer coat.
After a simple stretch, Bologue summoned the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid, cold snakes slithered over his palm, weaving like soft fabric into silver-white gloves.
For the past Bologue, such precision in control was extremely challenging, but now it was effortless.
However, with such progress, Bologue gradually discovered certain weaknesses in himself, such as lacking a powerful, one-hit-kill technique.
After the successful completion of the triple trials yesterday, Bologue had sparred with Hart in the combat room.
Hart, despite his simple appearance, fought with great vigor, and upon seeing Bologue as an Undead, he fully unleashed his power.
Then a prayer believer level Ether reaction was released unrestrictedly in front of Bologue.
Only at that moment did Bologue realize that Hart was a prayer believer.
As a prayer believer of the Origin School, under Ethereal Amplification, Hart’s movements were somewhat clumsy, but each of his punches was extremely lethal, the long halberd rising from the ground was easily shattered by him.
If Bologue were hit head-on without protection, his internal organs would be smashed into a bloody mess instantly.
Fortunately, Bologue was agile enough, combined with the deceit of the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid, throughout the bout, Hart couldn’t touch Bologue.
Regrettably, this duel ended in a draw.
While dodging Hart’s fierce attacks, Bologue also tried to counterattack, but no matter what kind of offensive he launched, he couldn’t penetrate the Ethereal Barrier that Hart constructed.
Even after passing the triple trials, there was still a certain gap between Bologue and a prayer believer.
Pure Ether forged into a defense encircling the body, all of Bologue’s attacks were blocked by Hart with ease, and this was Hart bare-handed, without using his own Alchemy Armament.
Honestly, this made Bologue somewhat disheartened, he initially thought after the triple trials, he could punch Condensers, kick prayer believers, but when faced with Hart, this guy was as hard as a shield wall.
In a way, it makes sense, Hart’s role in the team is indeed the shield wall, and during previous actions, the Ethereal Barrier he summoned could even withstand the attacks of Negative Power Users.
Bologue wasn’t entirely without options against Hart, he just needed to exhaust Hart, continuously draining his Ether, finding the weak points in the Ethereal Barrier, then launching a fierce attack.
But in the end, Bologue didn’t go that far, it was just sparring, not a life-and-death duel, no need to go to such extremes.
"You are strong, just met the wrong opponent," Hart commented afterwards, "I specialize in this Extreme Technique of Ethereal Barrier, though still not reaching the Extreme Realm, it’s not something an average person can break through, nimble fellows like you happen to be countered by me."
Bologue understood this rationale, fights among Condensers sometimes rely heavily on luck.
If Bologue were a Condenser of the Void Spirit School, he could bypass the Ethereal Barrier, heavy hit Hart’s mind, or create illusions to expose his flaws.
If Hart were a Condenser of the Void Spirit School, he would be slain in an instant amidst Bologue’s torrential offensive.
All in all, after the bout with Hart, Bologue realized his shortcomings, previously he had the Bright Light Blade to use, that pure Ethereal Sword enough to pierce most defenses, even having the chance against Hart’s Ethereal Barrier.
But during the battle with the Scarlet Bishop Latis, this Bright Light Blade, which once achieved great feats, shattered completely, leaving Bologue without a lethal method.
Bologue’s expression soured, lacking an Alchemy Armament, he would have to visit the Sublimation Furnace Core, and upon going there, would surely encounter Belli.
Recalling Belli’s furious howl from yesterday, Bologue felt a headache coming on, initially thinking he could avoid her for a while, but had to see her again the next day.
Stepping out of the room, entering the bar, still the familiar scene, Serey sprawled on the side, amidst a mess.
Bologue sidestepped bottles and jars, avoiding getting his shoes stained with unknown liquids, shortly after he arrived at the Order Bureau.
Belli looked at Bologue with a smile, crossing her white legs, her back pressing against the chair, hands on the armrests, displaying an arrogant demeanor as if holding victory.
Bologue directly ignored Belli, glancing around and remarked, "You actually have an office, I always thought you just found a random place to rest when tired."
Belli tilted her head, momentarily unable to react to Bologue’s sarcasm. As the head of the Sublimation Furnace Core, few dared speak to her .
Unlike the typical office image, Belli’s place was more like a small workshop, various containers crowded the shelves, at the edge of her desk, a small vise was set up.
Coupling with Belli’s alluring and mischievous face, Bologue felt she was akin to the old witch living in a tree from a story.
Bologue had prepared himself mentally, yet unexpectedly, this witch didn’t pounce to punch or kick him.
What unsettled Bologue more was that Belli’s mischievous smile vanished, replaced by a serious look.
Bologue always felt Belli and Palmer had some similarities, like they both had issues, but unlike Palmer who would ramble off-topic even at death’s door, insisting on finishing his jokes.
Belli was different, she knew well when to laugh, when to be serious, so whenever Belli became earnest, Bologue understood, the fun times were over, something important was happening.
"I need some lethal Alchemy Armament," Bologue began.
"Rather than research that, there’s another matter more pressing right now."
Looking at Belli’s expression, Bologue knew she wasn’t joking.
Minutes later, Belli brought Bologue to that familiar place, where he came daily.
Aimou floated in solution, continuously reconstructed, overall assembled, yet not coated, still metallic in color, like a finely crafted white doll.
"Aimou’s having some issues," Belli said beside him.
"What issues? She looks alright to me." Bologue didn’t understand.
"Yes, looks pretty good, just like new, but the problem is, we’ve reconstructed Aimou’s body, but haven’t managed to awaken her."
Saying this, Belli spoke cautiously, observing Bologue’s reaction.
"Haven’t... awakened?" Bologue repeated.
"All of Aimou’s metrics are within normal range, the Constant Motion Core and Mind Projection run stably, in theory, she could regain control of the body, but we’ve tried awakening several times, she remains unresponsive."
Belli racked her brains, trying to convey all this to Bologue, an outsider.
"Like a vegetative state, the shell is intact, yet consciousness can’t awaken."
Bologue’s brow gradually furrowed, recalling the nightmare he encountered yesterday, lost within the confusion.
"This truly resembles standing at the surgery room’s entrance, I’m the doctor, she’s the patient, with the teacher absent, apart from you, I can’t think of anyone to sign the critical notice," Belli mumbled.
Aimou is exceedingly lonely in this world, connections with her can be counted on one hand.
Relationships are like webs binding everyone firmly within society’s lair, but Aimou’s different, only a few threads connect her, and when all severed, she’d silently plunge into darkness.
"Do you have any ideas?" Bologue asked.
"The idea is you, certainly Aimou’s still alive, but she’s unable to wake, you’ve read similar reports, right? Families shouted endlessly beside vegetative patients, eventually waking them."
Thinking it over, Belli continued, "Though she’s my junior, I’ve had little interaction with her, she likely doesn’t remember my voice, but you’re not the same."