The power of the Seeker of Glory left Bologue breathless, and then the blinding light of the Ether robbed him of his sight and hearing. After a moment of searing pain, his body lost all sensation, leaving only a flicker of consciousness wavering in the storm of Ether.

The Ether burned, unleashing a cataclysmic impact within the Mirror World.

When Bologue awoke again, he was overwhelmed by unbearable pain, as if he had just emerged from a meat grinder. He wasn’t sure if he had merely fainted or had been killed and resurrected.

Bologue felt as if his body had been scorched, with his flesh and blood fused together, becoming a muddled mess.

As the thick smoke slowly dispersed, Bologue finally took in his surroundings.

Under the force of the Seeker of Glory, the ground had collapsed violently, forming a massive crater. The surrounding structures were decimated by the impact, resulting in ruins, with the debris scattered around the crater like a rain of rubble.

The bottom of the pit was pitch-black and unfathomable, with Bologue situated in this darkness. He could see broken walls and fractured columns, amassed piles of shattered bricks and stones. The air was filled with an unbearable stench of burning.

The cross-section of the pipelines was exposed due to the explosion, twisted metal pipes covered in thick dust. Some of the broken pipelines leaked sewage mixed with rubble and sludge, forming a chaotic and foul-smelling stream. The damaged valves and connections spewed gas and smoke, making the surroundings even darker and more perilous.

Bologue wasn’t entirely sure of his location, but when he spotted the subway station sign half-buried under dust, he realized the Regent King’s lethal strike had penetrated the ground, dragging him into the subway station below.

Sporadic debris fell from the pit above, followed by the emergence of a familiar figure, who leapt down to land before Bologue.

Bologue held his breath, struggling to stand, limping as the remaining Ether swept through the underground ruins. Among the rubble, he located the lost Grudgebite, and under the call of Secret Energy, the Blade returned to his hand.

"Huh, I’ve read reviews others have given about you, describing you as a dedicated expert," the Regent King’s silhouette was cloaked in shadow, his voice particularly hollow. "I thought ’expert’ was just a polite embellishment."

The Regent King staggered out of the shadows, heavy with a scent of blood.

He was pierced by numerous slender, silver-white spikes across his chest, as if subjected to a cleric’s brutal punishment upon a sinner. The spikes not only penetrated his chest but also his back, arms, and thighs.

Ordinarily, such injuries shouldn’t affect the Regent King, but this time his regenerative speed was slowed, even suppressed.

Bologue no longer had the strength to speak, but the Alchemy Matrix continued to operate, encasing Bologue in coil upon coil of silver-white serpents. Long before, amid the hunt for the Night Race, Bologue had commissioned Aimou to enhance the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid specifically.

For instance, by adding a certain amount of silver into this wondrous liquid metal.

Lethal silver. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"No... this stuff can indeed harm me, but it shouldn’t have hit me."

The Regent King reached out to grasp the spikes, and as his flesh touched them, there was a sound like sizzling flames.

He withdrew the blood-drenched spikes, feeling the Ether residual within, only then did the Regent King belatedly realize.

"Your Ether, your Secret Energy?

Did it undo my Ether?"