Chapter 399: Chapter 172: Driving without a License
The azure car shot out of the parking lot, racing through the morning streets of Opus. The engine roared without stopping, the tires screeched against the ground, emitting the same piercing wails only demons make when they’re crushed.
Bologue gripped the steering wheel and floored the accelerator, the scenery around them quickly receding. Beside him, Lebius sat quietly in the passenger seat, pondering the intelligence Bologue had just shared.
"So, you’re saying the King’s Shield Guard discovered Teda and is fighting over the Immortal Heart, and that Aimou... somehow obtained the Fantasy Species and triggered a time reversal?"
Lebius recapped the current situation, "Now they’re both being pursued by the King’s Shield Guard, and soon they’ll be captured by them."
"Yes, that’s roughly the situation."
Bologue didn’t reveal the specific circumstances about Aimou to Lebius. Now that the King’s Shield Guard had joined the fray, the priority of the situation had shifted.
What kind of wish Aimou made is not important right now; what’s important is the crisis brought by the King’s Shield Guard. To save Aimou, Bologue must first find a way to eliminate these damn enemies before he can consider what Aimou is really thinking.
"This is the information I gathered from the first three time reversals," Bologue said, his voice becoming suppressed. "I’ve heard from Serey that you’ve experienced similar time reversals. Serey also mentioned that such time reversal has a limit on the number of times..."
After each time reversal, Bologue could receive some good news and some bad news.
Even though his mysterious group leader was by his side, Bologue was not relieved, for there were only two of them at the moment.
A first-stage Condenser, a third-stage Negative Power User, now they were going to shake the King’s Shield Guard...
What made Bologue more uneasy was that he somewhat knew Lebius, whose Secret Energy leaned toward an Overlord. Only with the blessing of the Blade-Biting Wolf could Lebius’s power be fully unleashed.
But the situation was urgent, and Lebius clearly had no time to mobilize his wolf pack. It was a large group, not something that could be carried like Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid wrapped around one’s body.
Lebius didn’t express any opinion on this, still looking calm as if, even without the wolves by his side, he possessed the power to counter the enemy.
"King’s Shield Guard... Immortal Heart..." Lebius murmured.
"These guys are relentless, still attempting to seize the Immortal Heart," Bologue said, posing a question, "Why do they care so much about that heart? Do they want to achieve immortality with that blasted thing?"
Bologue had seen the Calamity in the Abandoned Land with his own eyes; achieving immortality with such power would only turn one into another monster.
"Immortality? No, it’s more like they want to prolong someone’s life," Lebius said.
Bologue pressed further, "What do you know?"
As the leader of the Special Operations Group, Bologue trusted that Lebius possessed information unknown to him, "There’s no need to be secretive now!"
"Shadow King, the person whom the King’s Shield Guard serves is referred to with utmost respect as the Shadow King. Based on the information we have, the Shadow King is at death’s door, hence the need for the Immortal Heart to extend his life."
The King’s Shield Guard was like an unknowable mist; fortunately, after so many encounters, the Order Bureau was beginning to discern the shape of the fog.
"Using the Immortal Heart?" Bologue listened to Lebius’s words, shaking his head, "That’s truly not a great option."
"They may have other objectives, but those are beyond our knowledge," Lebius said.
"What about the current situation? The time reversal triggered by the Fantasy Species," Bologue asked again, "Serey said it has a limit on the number of times; is that true?"
Lebius paused for a while before responding, "Yes, if it’s a time reversal triggered by the Fantasy Species, due to the limitations of the Fantasy Species’ power, there is definitely a limit on the number of times."
He understood the flood of questions in Bologue’s mind, and now, as they were on the road, Lebius explained everything in detail to Bologue.
"Do you know how the Fantasy Species was born? It’s after all a mortal’s power, and the power of mortals is limited.
But if a time reversal is triggered by the Devil, it might continue indefinitely until a certain goal is reached."
Listening to Lebius, Bologue’s expression gradually darkened.
Indefinitely continue until a certain purpose is achieved.
Bologue’s own Time Reversing Axis is just like that, resetting everything whenever he dies. Unlike the current situation, its scope of influence was not so dreadful, affecting only himself.
If this is true, then what purpose does the Devil intend to achieve through him?
Bologue didn’t continue to ponder; he pounded on the steering wheel, causing the car to emit a series of piercing horns.
Now was not the time to dwell on these matters; Bologue forced these thoughts about himself out of his mind, listening to Lebius’s further explanations.
"Just like our Secret Energies, narrow and sharp versus wide and blunt.
Your Blessing · Time Reversing Axis is a form of narrow and sharp time reversal, affecting only yourself, resetting indefinitely.
But if it’s inclined towards wide and blunt, it’s like the situation we’re encountering now, where the scope of the time reversal influence covers the entire Opus. It can reverse all things, even life and death, yet its flaw is that it cannot last forever; it has a moment of collapse."
Lebius seemed to think of something as he whispered to Bologue beside him.
"Time... a mysterious and unpredictable power, do you think humans can truly grasp this power?"
"If not, how do we explain our current circumstances?" Bologue retorted.
Lebius pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "This is just a conjecture... an illusion of controlling time."
Bologue didn’t understand, "What do you mean?"
"The Devil cannot change what’s already happened; once actions are taken, everything becomes the past, unchangeable... Do you understand this?"
"Of course I understand, move aside!"
Bologue said halfway, rolled down the window as he honked the horn and shouted out the window, "Damn it! Watch where you’re going!"
At the last second of the green light, the car rushed through the intersection.
"I don’t usually drive like this, Palmer usually drives... go on," Bologue said.
Lebius was silent for a second; he suddenly realized it was his first time collaborating in an operation with this group member of his.
"Wait! Damn it! Do these people even know how to drive!"
Bologue cursed again, looking every bit like a person who needs medical attention for his volatile temper.
He honked continuously, narrowly missing another car as the sound of wind howled past and an ear-piercing screeching echoed.
Sparks flew out from between the vehicles; the other car obviously hadn’t encountered a driver like Bologue before, scratches made visible marks on its side before losing control and crashing into the roadside bollards.
Bologue didn’t even look; throughout the whole incident, this azure car was unaffected, only facing severe friction on Lebius’s side.
Lebius, being a professional adept at handling turbulence, was unfazed by Bologue’s reckless driving. But with the intense friction, the window on Lebius’s side shattered completely, shards of glass spilling into the car, leaving a shallow cut on Lebius’s face.
He glanced at the dashboard. Ever since Lebius came aboard, the needle had not left the warning red zone.
Lebius wanted to continue discussing the time reversal issue with Bologue, but even someone as stern as Lebius couldn’t help but ask at this moment.
"Bologue, do you have a driver’s license?"
"Driver’s license? Of course, I do."
Bologue kept his eyes on the road, his tone surprisingly tinged with nostalgia.
"But it expired decades ago, right?"