Endless Debt

Chapter 1295 - 90: Members

The curtains whispered faintly with dim light, subtly illuminating the dark interior and casting a hazy outline on every object.Morning, another morning.

Bologue opened his eyes, sat up from the bed, dazed for a few seconds before stretching lazily and stepping down from the bed, pushing open the door.

The living room was silent. Bologue stood amidst tranquility, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Usually, he would hear Palmer’s snores at this time, but these days, the snoring was absent.

Glancing at the calendar, Bologue murmured, "Has it begun?"

As a debtor with a fractured soul, Palmer’s ascension ritual would be fraught with difficulties and dangers, compounded by his unfortunate blessing. To maximize Palmer’s survival, he underwent specialized training at the Sublimation Furnace Core in the days leading up to the ritual.

Until the ritual concluded, Palmer had to stay at the Sublimation Furnace Core, leaving Bologue alone at home.

Used to the usual clamor, Bologue found this peace somewhat unsettling.

After taking a few minutes to make a simple breakfast, Bologue took a few more to finish it off, then proceeded with his washing and dressing routine...

Bologue had been through such days many times. He was as skilled as a seasoned craftsman. Before retrieving the Key of the Crooked Path, Bologue glanced at the time.

Not a minute off.

Bologue was always like this—efficient, precise, like a machine, although this machine realized it might need some optimization.

"Perhaps I should get a driver’s license?"

Bologue stared at the Key of the Crooked Path in his hand, talking to himself.

Palmer wasn’t Bologue’s appendage; he couldn’t always accompany Bologue. Whenever Palmer was absent, it meant there was no one to drive, and since Bologue didn’t have a driver’s license, he could only resort to the Undying Club. Although this didn’t take much time, with frequent occurrences, Bologue couldn’t help having thoughts about it.

After adding the driver’s license plan to his mental schedule, Bologue inserted the Key of the Crooked Path, pulled open a patch of darkness, and stepped boldly into it.

As if starting a workday, as the view brightened, Bologue found himself inside the Undying Club, met with the familiar bar counter and drink tables, and Serey, unusually not hungover, stood alertly behind the counter.

Recalling his past arguments with Serey, Bologue intended to greet Serey to ease relations but froze on the spot.

Inside the Undying Club, the loud, chaotic chatter paused.

"Oh, good morning, Bologue."

Serey, behind the bar, noticed Bologue, showed a brief confusion, then wore an amused expression, raising his glass in greeting.

Bologue did not immediately respond to Serey’s greeting. His muscles were tense, his gaze scanning the surroundings.

Looking at those shadow-filled silhouettes.

Usually, the Undying Club rarely had many people, at most never exceeding ten, but now it was crowded. Countless breaths overlapped, resembling a brewing storm.

An eerie atmosphere filled the bar, amidst dim yellow lights, terrifying and mysterious demons gathered. Their shapes varied—some were beastly, full of fangs, others were eagle-men with wings, and serpent-like creatures laden with scales... Their otherworldly forms starkly contrasted with humans, as if creatures walked out from a nightmare.

Their peculiar attire further added to the odd ambiance, some draped in black cloaks with hair covering most of their face, exposing only sinister eyes, some dressed in tight black leather suits emitting enchanting metallic patterns, while others donned ancient armor as if traversing from buried histories.

All eyes focused on Bologue, then Serey introduced at the right moment.

"Everyone, this is Bologue Lazarus, a new member of the Undying Club. I believe this might be your first meeting with him."

Serey’s words eased the tense atmosphere significantly. Countless gazes moved away from Bologue, and the monsters resumed their fervent discussions, no one paying attention to this young undead.

Bologue stood stiffly on the spot, not out of fear, but bewildered by the sudden change within the Undying Club. He attempted to listen to their conversations. The voices were low, hoarse, reminiscent of an eerie whisper when cold winds brushed past graveyards. When these aberrant creatures debated loudly, it felt like a grand dark symphony echoing within the bar.

Strange words echoed around him. Attentively listening, Bologue realized he couldn’t understand what these creatures were discussing. Some possessed peculiar accents and distorted tones, akin to a faulty radio. Others spoke in languages unknown to Bologue.

The few comprehendible statements Bologue heard were filled with bizarre and terrifying rhetoric, inciting shivers.

If not for seeing Serey and confirming he hadn’t entered the wrong place, Bologue would have suspected he’d trespassed into some unknown forbidden domain.

Approaching the bar, Bologue squeezed through the towering silhouettes to find a spot and whispered to Serey.

"What happened? Who are these people?"