Chapter 1250: Chapter 65: Safe Zone
Evil Spirit. In Furya’s eyes, she herself was a hideous, terrifying Evil Spirit.
This answer was within Bologue’s expectations. He had already more or less understood what had happened to Furya, and why, back in the Order Bureau’s rescue operation years ago, they had failed to bring her out of this predicament.
The Inverted World.
Furya was just like those staff-like monsters who believed themselves to be employees—she too had been affected by the Inverted World. But unlike those monsters, Furya hadn’t cast herself into some bizarre roleplay; instead, in her eyes, everyone except herself had turned into monsters.
So at the very first moment she saw him, what she saw was not a person, but a hideous, terrifying Evil Spirit.
This really was an inhuman Curse. Ever since then, Furya’s world had been filled with monsters, and she was the last remaining human.
Bologue gradually undid the restraints on Furya while patiently explaining the whole sequence of events to her, trying to get her to accept the existence of the Inverted World.
The process was not easy. After so many years of surviving alone, Furya had developed numerous psychological problems, not to mention that, at this moment, Bologue’s appearance was still that of an Evil Spirit.
Imagine such a scene: you’ve struggled to survive for years in some eerie, malign place, and now you’re caught by a terrifying Evil Spirit. It doesn’t kill you immediately, but instead starts telling you it isn’t an Evil Spirit...
Bologue was not good with words; his attempts at comforting and explaining came out somewhat feeble. At times like this, he couldn’t help but once again miss Aimou—her Secret Energy could allow hearts and minds to communicate directly.
After nearly half an hour of repeated explanations, Bologue finally managed to calm Furya’s emotions. He discovered that this little thief was extremely sensitive: the slightest disturbance would trigger her vigilance and flight, like a sly rabbit.
Then again, without that extra edge of wariness, Furya could never have survived so long in the Ruins District.
"It’s really unbelievable. So, you’re an intern, had only just started working, and then ran into the secret war, and ended up lost in the Ruins District," Bologue couldn’t help but marvel at Furya’s survival ability. "You actually lived on your own for so many years."
"To be precise, I was just a holiday intern."
Furya protested. As she spoke, her head was lowered, her gaze wandering around, ready to bolt at any second.
"You should know the type—those who come out to intern during holidays to get familiar with the job ahead of time and so on."
When she mentioned this, a layer of mist rose in Furya’s eyes again, as if she were about to cry.
"Oh, oh, I know that kind."
Bologue nodded. So, essentially, Furya was a student who came out to intern during her vacation. Before she even had time to complain about having to work during her break, she was swept into the clamor of a secret war.
Furya muttered in a low voice, "I... I got tricked by my family back then. They said early exposure would be good for me..."
Tragic. Utterly tragic.
Bologue roughly estimated Furya’s age, then recalled the time when the secret war had broken out. Furya must have started trying to work at a very young age, and then ran into something like this.
Does the Order Bureau really like hiring minors that much? Bologue couldn’t help complaining inwardly. Teda’s tragedy had been the same way. These people were all in such a rush, desperate for their children to have several years of work experience before even graduating.
By comparison, Palmer was actually a lot luckier. Though he had also started this miserable life from the time of his coming-of-age ceremony, at least he’d been working up in the Wind Source Highlands. Working for his own clan and working for the Order Bureau were two completely different experiences.
Based on the information he had, Bologue further deduced Furya’s background.
Many Condensers only had their Alchemy Matrix implanted after adulthood, once the soul had stabilized. Furya’s age clearly didn’t fit that pattern; she’d already become a Condenser before coming of age. That only happened in those Extraordinary Clans or Secret Societies.
Of course. Without some family background and capability, how could the Order Bureau have allowed Furya to intern back then?
Furya had no idea that, from just a handful of scattered clues, Bologue had already pieced her together almost completely. She still had her head bowed, trying to sort out her tangled thoughts.
"So... so you’re saying my perception has become distorted?"
Furya stammered. She hadn’t spoken for too long, and even though Bologue had explained things many times, in her eyes he was still a mass of intertwined phantoms and Evil Spirits.
Furya truly found it hard to convince herself that this guy in front of her was friendly. Every moment she spent talking to Bologue, she was forcing herself not to give in to the instinct to run.
"Yes. You’re an intern; it’s normal that you don’t understand this. This is a type of Extraordinary Disaster known as the Inverted World."
Bologue took some time to explain it to Furya yet again. At the same time, he produced all sorts of proof of his identity. By his reckoning, Furya had been out of contact with the Order Bureau for nearly ten years. And after the secret war, the Order Bureau had gone through multiple reforms—who knew whether these credentials would even mean anything to her.
It felt a bit like talking to a child. But Furya really did count as a child. Her experience was somewhat similar to Bologue’s—trapped for many years in some cursed place.
Bologue had fared somewhat better. When he’d been in the Black Prison, his mind had already been tempered by war, becoming tenacious and unyielding. Furya, however, still had the mindset of a child, a student. This bizarre environment had frozen her psychological age; even if she had grown, most of that growth was in survival skills.
"So, are you feeling any better now?" Bologue asked gently.
"Uh... kind of."
Furya shifted her gaze away. She still didn’t dare meet Bologue’s eyes. Then, a bit awkwardly, she added, "And... and you don’t need to sound so soft. Just talk normally."
"Huh?"
"It’s just... weird, you know?"
Furya eyed Bologue from the corner of her vision. A terrifying Evil Spirit was speaking to her in an indescribably gentle tone—the contrast made her feel terribly ill at ease, goosebumps threatening to rise all over her skin.
But she didn’t feel bad, not really. After all these years, it was the first time she had encountered a being she could talk to, even if he looked terrifying.
Bologue felt an inexplicable twinge of disappointment. "All right."
Silence fell between them. Bologue waited with great patience. The changes in the Ruins District had far exceeded the Order Bureau’s expectations, and in this area, Bologue was a complete outsider.
Fortunately, he had caught a local.
Furya had lived alone in the Ruins District for many years. She should know its rules and territorial divisions very well. She was like an experienced guide; with her help, Bologue’s next moves would go much more smoothly.
"I wasn’t abandoned, right?"
Suddenly, Furya asked Bologue, "They did come looking for me, it’s just that, because of the Inverted World, I saw them as monsters and hid from them."
Bologue’s heart sank, but he still nodded, affirming Furya’s guess.
"Yes."
Hearing this answer, Furya could no longer bear it. She began to cry silently.
The saddest thing wasn’t being trapped in this twisted place, but the fact that she had had several chances to escape, and every one of them had slipped right past her.
"We should get going."
Bologue helped Furya pick up her many bags and bundles, all crammed with different supplies. He ventured, "You have a safe base somewhere in this Ruins District, right?"
"Mm."
Furya wiped her tears. "There are some areas the staff never step into."
"Like here?"
Bologue glanced around. This region of Void Lumps was like another form of Transfer Station, with countless doors standing at the ends of staircases, connecting the different areas together.
Furya said, "More or less, but this place doesn’t really count as completely safe."
"Why not?"
Bologue pressed. They had already wasted a lot of time here, yet no staff had invaded from start to finish. He had assumed this place would be quite safe, but in Furya’s view, that was not the case.
Furya said, "This place is safe, but it still can’t escape its gaze."
"Whose gaze?"
Furya suddenly looked as if she’d just realized something. After having no contact with people for so long, her behavior and mannerisms always came off a little odd.
She walked to the edge of the stairway and pointed down at the massive Lump formed by countless intertwined staircases, and at the strange, faint glow slowly seeping out from within the gaps that encased it.
"Its. That hazy light."
