Chapter 25 - Equivalent Exchange

Chapter 25 - 12: Equivalent ExchangePushing open the door, Bologue and Geoffrey walked out of Lebius's office, and once the door was closed, only the two of them were left in the empty corridor.

Unlike the initial unease, Bologue felt he was gradually blending in here; at least it wasn't so unfamiliar to him anymore.

"'Rupert's Tail' Special Operations Group..."

Bologue glanced at the badge in his palm and murmured softly.

"Honestly, I'm starting to like my new boss."

Bologue said to Geoffrey.

He liked such people, these smart individuals. Lebius knew what Bologue needed and didn't mind lending him a hand. Instead of verbal exchanges, Lebius was now more eager to take action.

Cutting out the awkward pleasantries, the two were like indifferent hunters, efficiently and succinctly exchanging information about the prey.

There was no need for mutual ideology agreement, just a consistent general direction.

As long as Bologue was willing to abide by their order, it didn't matter if he was a debtor or a darker monster; Lebius didn't care.

Bologue never imagined his joining to be so smooth; he had expected to sign numerous terms and swear some declarations.

After considering all this, Bologue's gaze quickly grew bleak as he picked up the documents tucked under his arm.

Man-eater.

Adelle's death was related to the "man-eater". Knowing such information was enough for Bologue; now he only needed to knock on the door with weapons, crush their bones one by one, pull out their teeth, and pry out what he wants from their whimpering gasps.

"Is this your mutual stench?"

Geoffrey noticed the change in Bologue. He had thought since early on that the two would get along, but seeing such a scene still made him uneasy.

One who only cared about results and didn't mind the methods—a "Negative Power User", and another full of vengeful fury—the Undead, two extremely obsessive individuals coming together was indeed unsettling.

"When are you planning to pay a visit to that unlucky guy?"

Geoffrey glanced at the documents; this could count as Bologue's first task since joining.

"I'll go whenever I'm ready."

Bologue said, the restless feeling in his heart was urging him, anger waiting to be vented. Bologue couldn't wait any longer.

"You're somewhat hard to comprehend, you... but still, you're the Undying Body, and I'm this weak mortal flesh; understanding is destined to be elusive."

Seeing Bologue's impatient demeanor, Geoffrey could only sigh repeatedly.

"I applied for transfer to logistics because I couldn't stand the fighting and killing of field duties," Geoffrey recalled, "You really love your work, Bologue."

To this, Bologue just smiled without saying anything.

There were many reasons he loved this job: avenging Adelle, understanding the truth of the Extraordinary World, and also, by hunting demons, he could accumulate soul fragments, which might patch up his missing soul.

"But... I still hope you'll consider more; though you see yourself as an expert, you're actually just a newbie who's been on the job for a day, unaware of the dangers in it."

Geoffrey became serious and said solemnly.

"But no matter how dangerous, I won't die, right?" Bologue said.

The Undying Body, Bologue's greatest reliance for now; regardless of the perilous environment, it meant nothing to him.

To this, Geoffrey could only sigh helplessly, he was at a loss for words, and then he said, "Forget it, I'll bring you to meet those 'idlers' later when we have time."

"Who?" Bologue asked.

Geoffrey didn't continue to explain who the "idlers" were in his mouth, but started talking about something else.

"Let me introduce some related matters to you, such as this task you've taken, you might face more than just demons."

Bologue had a lot of knowledge to learn, but Lebius was obviously not suited to be any kind of teacher; this work inevitably fell onto Geoffrey because he had done it many times, and Geoffrey was adept at it.

"Not just demons... what else?"

As soon as the words left Bologue's mouth, he suddenly remembered something, looking at Geoffrey with a few traces of joy.

"Condenser."

Geoffrey said a word both unfamiliar and familiar.

Bologue knew what "Condensation" was, a method of condensing souls into entities, but he hadn't heard of "Condenser".

Seeing Bologue's puzzled look, Geoffrey nudged Bologue's body, indicating him to move forward.

"Let's go, it's time to eat; we'll talk then."

"They've left?"

Yuriel pushed open the door, sidestepped and peeked in, glancing around the room; only Lebius remained in the office, sitting behind the desk and looking down at the document in his hand.

"Mm."

Lebius responded coldly without raising his eyes to look at Yuriel, but kept staring at the file, or rather the name on it.

Bologue Lazarus.

"You seem really interested in him."

Yuriel walked beside Lebius. As Lebius's assistant, she knew well what kind of person Lebius was and understood that it had been a long time since anyone had caught Lebius's interest like this.

"No, I'm not interested in him."

Lebius rejected Yuriel's words, furrowing his brow as if pondering something extremely important.

Yuriel remained silent, standing by to wait for Lebius. She knew better than to interrupt Lebius at such times.

After several minutes, Lebius let out a long sigh, put down the document in his hand, propped his head with his hand, and vigorously massaged his temples.

Several times he was about to speak, but Lebius remained silent, and finally, he asked hesitantly.

"Yuriel, have you ever met the people from the 'Undying Club'?"

Undying Club.

Upon hearing this term, Yuriel appeared somewhat confused, but vaguely recalled something, her gaze hidden with caution.

Seeing Yuriel's reaction, Lebius smiled self-deprecatingly and shook his head helplessly.

"Yeah, how could you have met those people? But surely, you've heard of them."

Lebius gritted his teeth, his words filled with disdain for those people.

"A group of beings, who have lived for unknown durations, devoid of 'desires', with hearts as cold as ice, and to stir any dying feelings, they would always do some crazy things, in the name of seeking fun."

Lebius loathed that group of undead. In Opus, they counted as the most idle people, so within the Order Bureau, they are often referred to as "idlers". Many times, the trouble for the Order Bureau comes from these "idlers" seeking amusement.

"I have met those undead. Like Bologue, they received the Gift of Immortality from the Devil, but their immortality is flawed, a 'twisted wish'.

"What... do you mean?" Yuriel was confused.

"Equivalent exchange.

All transactions with the Devil are absolute exchanges between 'value' and 'value', even debtors favored by the Devil."

Lebius recalled that those undead had lived too long and were eccentric. He seldom dealt with them.

"If the wish-maker cannot pay the price required for the wish, the transaction will fail... but the deal can also be forced. If forced, the transaction will be 'corrected'.

Yuriel's face slightly changed; she knew about the "correction" part or the "twisted wish".

"Yes, just like a fair trade. If the buyer cannot pay enough value, the product sold by the seller will also be appropriately 'degraded'.

Lebius whispered.

"Those 'idlers' couldn't pay the high price, thus their immortality was all twisted, even for the Villeries, immortality must be repaid with the endless future of their family.

Lebius looked at Yuriel and questioned.

"Haven't you noticed the clue?"

Yuriel's gaze was rigid. She had already sensed it from Lebius's account; it's just that the information brought forth was too terrifying.

"Bologue Lazarus... his wish, his immortality hasn't been twisted, it's nearly a perfect 'Undying Body'," Yuriel's pupils contracted, her words trembling, "What price did he ultimately pay?"

What kind of "value" did Bologue Lazarus pay to obtain such a perfect "Blessing"?

"I don't know, I'm afraid even Bologue himself doesn't know. I even doubt whether he truly had the ability to pay such a price."

Lebius contemplated, then affirmed.

"I have researched Bologue's profile. From his birth to when he was housed by the Order Bureau, it's certain he had absolutely no ability to pay such a high price."

"Then you mean..." Yuriel dared not continue to think.

"The problem isn't with Bologue, but with the entity that granted him immortality."

This was a terrifying and unsettling conclusion. Yet, under current deduction, it was the only reasonable result.

Lebius stated as calmly as possible.

"Ten Weng Coins can exchange for stuff worth ten Weng Coins, but Bologue exchanged a single Weng Coin for something worth ten, a hundred Weng Coins...

It's the Devil, the one who traded with Bologue. It granted Bologue an 'Undying Body', and it was willing to make such a loss-making deal.

Why then?"

Lebius murmured to himself.

"Why would that Devil make such an exchange?"

He couldn't figure out why the Devil would make such a decision, or what its purpose was?

After pondering for a long time, Lebius's gaze sharpened once more.

"I need to have a chat with the Minister.