Chapter 428: Chapter 197 Serey’s Love
Aimou’s figure gradually blurred in the dazzling light, then completely faded away.
In the intangible haze, familiar things emerged, and Bologue could once again see his surroundings clearly; he had returned to the very beginning.
Inside the Undying Club, Bologue sat in front of the bar, with Serey’s heart-shaped breakfast placed in front of him. Serey stood behind the bar, looking exhausted to the point of collapse.
The bar was in chaos, and Bode was humming a strange melody while leisurely mopping the floor.
Bologue’s expression was somewhat dejected, his hands still retaining the cold touch from Aimou, and his own roar seemed to echo subtly in his ears.
The sixth time reversal had begun.
Bologue was just about to get up and take action when a heavy sense of fatigue overwhelmed his heart, followed by heart-wrenching pain in his head.
Leaning against the bar with both hands, Bologue struggled not to collapse, blinking hard as his vision gradually blurred, with multiple afterimages appearing before him.
In previous time reversals, Bologue had experienced similar feelings. As the number of reversals increased, these negative states grew ever stronger.
Bologue guessed that this was perhaps the impact on himself from the conflict between his own Blessing and the time reversals.
Interwoven timelines were gradually crushing his will, yet his independent timeline’s undying nature left him hovering between life and death.
A metallic taste rose in his throat, and large drops of nosebleed started to fall.
"Are you alright, Bologue?"
Serey, sensing the sweet scent of blood, perked up a bit.
"I’m fine, nothing to worry about."
Bologue wiped his nose, staining his sleeve with blood.
Bologue wasn’t worried about these various negative states, nor about the situation spiraling out of control. If possible, he intended to completely resolve the matter within this sixth time reversal.
However, Bologue still wasn’t sure if he had truly moved Aimou, if he had pulled her out of her self-imposed prison; if he reached the rendezvous point and Aimou wasn’t there, then his actions in the previous and this time reversal would be meaningless.
Bologue gradually felt the anticipation and anxiety from handing over the choice to someone else.
Serey observed Bologue, "You look tired, Bologue."
From Serey’s perspective, Bologue had just woken up, yet his spirit seemed incredibly weary, as if reaching its limit and on the verge of collapse.
In Bologue’s perspective, he had already gone through six consecutive time reversals, and during each reversal, he rushed to fight and resolve everything.
Disregarding the buffer period in the Undying Club during each time reversal, Bologue had practically been fighting continuously for a whole day.
If it were slashing Demons, Bologue could indeed gleefully chop away all day, buoyed by the supply of Soul Shards, brimming with energy like a Perpetual Motion Machine.
But this time was different; the reality Bologue faced was far too complex.
Serey asked, "Did something happen?"
"Yes, but it’s a bit too complicated to explain now."
Bologue didn’t continue the conversation with Serey; he had already said enough in previous time reversals.
Even if he were to fully disclose everything to Serey, what would it accomplish? These Undead were trapped in this dim-witted club, powerless to interfere with the outside world.
Bologue, forcing himself to overcome the discomfort in his mind, managed to stand up, a blue glow flashing in his eyes. With the blessing of Ether, he felt better, but it was only temporary.
Bologue was now supposed to act, but just as he was preparing to leave, Serey called him back.
"Wait a moment, Bologue."
"I’m really busy right now."
"It won’t take much of your time."
Bologue didn’t want to deal with Serey’s antics, so he ignored his words and walked directly towards the door, but suddenly a powerful pressure descended on him, immobilizing him.
"Serey, you..."
Bologue turned his head, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by Serey.
"I can feel it, some force is affecting this city."
Serey’s scarlet eyes also gleamed brilliantly at that moment, and he mustered his spirit, grabbing an empty glass from behind the bar and began mixing a drink.
Bologue appeared somewhat surprised; he hadn’t mentioned anything, so how could Serey possibly be aware of the time reversals?
Bologue said, "You can’t help me with anything."
"True, but... we could bend the rules a bit."
Serey smiled at Bologue, a smile that made Bologue feel extremely uncomfortable. Serey placed the glass on the bar and poured in various mysterious liquids as he muttered like a Witch.
"Add a bit of lemon, a little spirit, and then some love..."
Although Serey said this, Bologue didn’t actually see any lemon or spirit. After pouring in those strangely colored liquids, they reacted violently in the glass, emitting white smoke.
When mentioning love, Serey suspended his index finger above the glass, and shortly after, a drop of blood fell from his finger.
As if strong acid had seeped into the liquid, the reaction in the glass became even more intense, with countless bubbles popping incessantly. After about ten seconds, they finally calmed down.
Serey somehow found a tiny umbrella and a cherry, decorating the glass before pushing it towards Bologue.
"Want to try?"
"Can I refuse?"
Bologue’s expression was outright disdainful; he could tolerate "lemon" and "spirit," but Serey’s "love" he found hard to accept.
"What do you think?"
Serey’s face broke into an irrefutable smile, and Bologue warily approached, shakily picking up the glass.
Uncertain of what Serey was up to, it was clear he intended to help; it was just that the manner of this aid baffled Bologue.
Gathering his courage, Bologue picked up the glass and downed it in one gulp.
"What the hell is this?"
Bologue felt like he had swallowed a ball of fire, the burning pain spreading from his throat to his stomach, causing him to cough and retch violently, but the liquid seemed to seep directly into his body, disappearing.
"A gift from Night Race Lord, Serey Villeries."
Serey gave Bologue a thumbs-up, his voice lilting with a mix of pride and narcissism. If Serey could just change out of that gaudy dance costume, maybe those words would be more convincing.
Bologue didn’t question further as he already sensed what the so-called gift was; the tormenting pain in his head vanished, and the splitting double vision dissipated as well.
"Serey’s love" turned out to be surprisingly potent. Bologue even felt the abundant Ether rolling in the Alchemy Matrix, as if bestowed with some kind of Protection, like during the meeting hall ambush.
"Our Night Race has its own system; higher-tier Night Race can voluntarily donate blood to lower-tier Night Race to elevate their bloodline tier."
Serey leisurely explained, "This act is called ’Blood Donation.’"
Bologue said, "But I’m not part of the Night Race."
"Right, so for you, it just gives you a temporary all-around boost."
"Isn’t this against the rules?" Bologue asked.
"Against the rules? I just saw that my member wasn’t in good shape today, so I mixed a drink to improve his condition. As for what he does after his condition improves, what’s that got to do with me?"
Serey feigned ignorance at such a time, "I’m just a bartender, right? No need to make things difficult for me, is there?"
That previous dignified manner vanished; Serey was once again surrounded by that air of folly. He leaned closer to Bologue and softly said.
"Rules are cold and indifferent, and they are exceedingly foolish. As long as you find a loophole around the rules, they will be at your mercy."
Serey whispered to Bologue, "Think carefully, you should be able to figure it out, right?"
Under Serey’s guidance, a ridiculous idea began taking shape in Bologue’s mind; his expression became mysterious. He really wanted to high-five Serey in excitement, but felt that doing so would be too obvious; he should pretend to know nothing.
At that moment, the door to the Undying Club was pushed open.