Chapter 405: Chapter 178 Cat and Mouse Game
Now Bologue had ventured deep into the Great Rift, a place where toxic mist lingered everywhere, and with each breath, Bologue felt a burning sensation scorch his throat.
An ordinary person without protection wouldn’t last long in such an environment and would soon suffocate to death in the poisonous mist, but it didn’t affect Bologue; it only made him very uncomfortable.
His body was constantly in a self-healing state, continually consuming Bologue’s Ether, a sensation akin to being trapped in a swamp, where every movement required considerable effort.
The distance from here to the Wandering Crossroad wasn’t far; beneath it, the mist obscured the vision. In the dim light, Bologue saw many abandoned structures built between the rifts.
This place was once inhabited, with continuous buildings stretching along every part of the cliffs, transforming them into a suspended city. Yet as the toxic mist spread throughout the Great Rift, the lower sections became unsuitable for human habitation, gradually falling into disuse and being engulfed by the mist.
Bologue felt as if he was wandering through a silent city, where a gentle breeze stirred the mist, akin to invisible phantoms pacing beside him.
The harsh environment couldn’t restrict Bologue’s movements, nor could it restrict Aimou.
Bologue proceeded cautiously, surmising what Aimou might be thinking. However, he couldn’t directly change Aimou’s mind, implying that Aimou remained in an antagonistic stance against him.
In previous instances of time reversal, Aimou managed to survive the pursuit of the King’s Shield Guard, indicating that she wasn’t as fragile as one might think; she possessed a certain level of combat ability.
Exactly, Aimou was a Delusional. How could she possibly be as weak and frail as she appeared on the surface?
Ever since Bologue and Aimou got acquainted, at every encounter in battle, Aimou would employ the Shared Chord Body to hide within Bologue, so he had never witnessed Aimou’s combat prowess.
Continuing along this line of thought, Teda entrusting Aimou to act on his behalf must stem from tremendous trust, believing the chaotic Great Rift posed no threat to Aimou...
Finally, Bologue recalled his skirmish with Gray. Even amidst those chain traps, Bologue found it unbearably challenging.
Bologue abruptly halted his steps, his gaze scanning all around.
The lighting here was dim; everything was shrouded in a misty blue-gray, the thick mist obstructing vision, while menacing black silhouettes loomed and wriggled behind the mist like a nightmare’s paradise.
Ether silently surged; Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid coated Bologue’s body like snug-fitting scale armor, safeguarding his torso.
This abandoned town was indeed perfect for laying traps; Bologue guessed that Aimou had initially planned to escape here, to ambush her enemies in this place.
But this time, the pursuer wasn’t the King’s Shield Guard; it was Bologue himself.
Holding his breath, Bologue moved forward slowly. Suddenly, he sensed the flow of Ether; it was faint and nearly indiscernible. Had Bologue not remained alert, even he might not have noticed it.
Here it comes. From where will the attack initiate?
Bologue tensed up entirely. For some reason, despite his Undying Body which rendered any assassination attempt useless, he inexplicably felt tense.
Instinctively, he sensed a threat from Aimou; perhaps she couldn’t kill him, but she might have the capability to trap him.
What could trap him?
Past memories surged like tides, Aimou’s various abnormal behaviors previously flashed repeatedly in Bologue’s mind. He recalled Aimou’s sorrowful demeanor when they fell into the Abandoned Land, and the words she uttered facing the Calamity.
Yes, from then on, Aimou had already revealed her tail, yet Bologue hadn’t realized it at all.
As a Debtor, Bologue was acutely perceptive to the Devil’s madness. If he had continued to accompany Aimou, her secrets would never have remained hidden from Bologue. Therefore, she had to find a way to remove Bologue, or at least distance him from herself.
"I’m sorry."
When he awoke in the Abandoned Land, Aimou repeatedly apologized to him. At the time, Bologue didn’t understand why, but now he understood somewhat.
At that moment, Aimou must have considered killing him.
In that Ether vacuum environment, his Undying Body would be utterly ineffective, turning Bologue into a literal corpse until he regained the strength of Ether.
Then...
The movement of Ether suddenly intensified. Bologue heard a sound akin to a Fire Dragon’s roar, followed by a surging heatwave rushing toward him.
Blazing fire illuminated this dim world, dispelling the pervasive toxic mist. Bologue’s shadow stretched long and thin under the firelight, as if a sinner struggling in a sea of fire.
"Really, this direct?"
Bologue flung out a hooked rope, swiftly leaping out of the burning range.
Even though he escaped the grasp of the flames, the relentless heatwaves left Bologue in a sorry state, the firelight too dazzling to gaze upon directly.
"Aimou, you’re serious!" Bologue cursed loudly.
This wasn’t like the inferior Fire-Calling Staff he’d encountered before; this one was a genuine Alchemy Armament packed with formidable firepower.
Light laughter echoed in the darkness, seemingly Aimou mocking him.
"Since you want to play so much..."
Bologue said as he gripped the group of snakes tightly, the dense snake scales intertwined to forge a slender, long Iron Spear.
"Then let’s play!"
The patterns on his arm gleamed brightly, and with the launch of Ethereal Amplification, Bologue hurled the Iron Spear like a missile.
The Iron Spear pierced through the mist and fire, creating an open void, followed by a rapid whirlwind that swept up flames and mist, spinning towards the Fire-Calling Staff.
After an ear-splitting crash, the burning of the Fire-Calling Staff extinguished. Bologue twisted his wrist smoothly, a silver-white chain now in his hand.
As he cast the Iron Spear, the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid had already formed into a chain, connected to the spear tail, and Bologue rapidly charged towards the end of the flames.
This time, Bologue didn’t hold back. He recalled Belli saying she entrusted all her Armor to Aimou, and in the last time reversal, Bologue personally witnessed the power of those armors.
A sharp long sword tore through the mist. When Bologue pounced, besides the shattered rocks and an embedded Iron Spear, there was nothing else around.
Aimou wasn’t there, yet Ether was still surging.
A glimmer of light shone under Bologue’s feet, followed by intricate light trails covering the entire ground.
Aimou knew Bologue too well. This violent expert, fueled by the power of his Undying Body, always acted with such violence and speed. Bologue never sat back; he was one who liked to attack proactively.
As long as she showed a shred of her whereabouts, it would invite his stormy assault, a fact which was undoubtedly exploitable.
The ground seemed to burn red, under the stimulation of Ether, bursting into dazzling flames. Bologue watched coldly as the explosion rose beneath him, fully encased in his sturdy scale armor before the flames devoured him.
Ground-shaking explosions rang out, the impact obliterating surrounding buildings, roaring airwaves dissipating the surrounding mist, yet soon the mist suppressed down again, coalescing like a descending dark cloud.
In the ominous black smoke emerged a grayish-black silhouette, and scale armor fell off one after another as Bologue grimly shed the tattered Armor.
The explosion’s shockwaves left Bologue feeling dizzy, parts of his body slightly burned, but these weren’t problematic.
Bologue stood calmly, snakes had long since overflowed from his ankle, burrowing into the ground, crawling and searching around.
Aimou, gauging situations encountered in each time reversal, would prepare countermeasures for the next time reversal. Having seen him in the last one, surely she’d devised numerous strategies against him this time.
Luckily, Aimou didn’t appear to realize that Bologue too could retain memories during time reversals, granting him a significant advantage.
Aimou thought she had everything under control, oblivious to Bologue also joining the hunt.
"So, what other tricks do you have, Aimou?"
Bologue faced the silent world, waiting for the phantom’s counterattack.