Chapter 1543 - 77: A Disastrous Meeting

Olivia had come to this dark little alley more than once, but her mood now was completely different from the last time—complicated, tangled with meanings.

She hesitated at the door for a long time, and after a prolonged battle with herself, Olivia still forced her legs to move, knocked lightly, and stepped into the darkness.

A dense reek of alcohol rushed to meet her. It felt like all‑night parties were held here on a regular basis, the liquor soaked so deep into the wood it couldn’t be scrubbed out. Inside it was unnaturally quiet, as if the place had already closed down, empty of people.

Olivia stood in the Undying Club, scanning the surroundings with guarded eyes, nerves strung tight. Her fingers slid silently into the shadows and closed around the Dagger Serey had given her.

Serey was a coward, but she was different. She absolutely refused to be as spineless as him.

So Olivia had come, gaze unwavering, radiating murderous intent.

Unfortunately, Olivia had gone to all that trouble to arm her heart, readying herself for a pitched battle, only to find the Undying Club utterly deserted, her heavy swing landing on nothing but air.

After staring blankly for a moment, Olivia sat down at the bar. No bartender, no other patrons—only Olivia was here. As she thought, the fire of her anger slowly died down, and the heavy Armor peeled away from her heart.

Olivia took stock of this strange club. Ever since the Dawn War ended, her father, Serey, had spent long years here.

Can’t figure it out... absolutely can’t figure it out.

Even though the bond between Serey and Olivia was far from close, in Olivia’s memories Serey still occupied most of her childhood, so Olivia knew very well what kind of man he was.

A reckless, free‑floating drifter, roaming the world—aside from her mother, it seemed no one had ever truly managed to bind him... Olivia had once naively believed she would become an anchor, holding Serey in place.

No. She wouldn’t.

Olivia had thought that after everything, Serey would simply go back to his roaming life of old, drifting from woman to woman, burning the world away with crude, feral emotions and rivers of smuggled booze, wandering among the nations like a legend that could be seen but never touched...

No one had expected that Serey didn’t become his old self at all. He hid himself away in the Undying Club, like an aging old man whose youthful spark was utterly gone, muttering nonsense about "retirement" under his breath.

Since then Olivia had seldom heard anything about Serey.

She inhaled the alcoholic tang in the air, studied the display cabinet packed with every kind of glassware, then looked to the wall bristling with bottles...

"What are you thinking about?"

A soft female voice cut through Olivia’s thoughts. She snapped a wary look toward the shadows to her side, and saw a slim black cat step out of the darkness. It hopped up onto the bar with practiced ease and sat primly in front of Olivia, its tail wrapping around its body like a barrier protecting itself.

"Olivia, I know you," the black cat said. "You can call me Wei’Er. I’m an Undead, a member of this club."

Olivia’s guard was high. She’d drifted outside for decades, lived through betrayal after betrayal; it was already hard for her to feel any simple trust in others.

"Don’t tense up. I’m retired, I’m not about to hurt you," Wei’Er said, licking her paw. "Besides, you’re Serey’s kid."

"Serey’s kid?"

Olivia let out a contemptuous little laugh. Hearing that label now, she found it purely ironic.

"Bode! We’ve got a guest!"

Suddenly, Wei’Er shouted, and the momentary slack in Olivia’s vigilance snapped tight again. Something rattled in the dark, like bones clacking together, and then a tall skeletal frame emerged from the shadows.

He walked slowly to behind the bar and offered Olivia a friendly greeting. If he still had flesh on his face, Olivia would have seen a genial smile there.

"Hello, I’m Bode. Like her, I’m an Undead, a member here."

Bode picked up a glass as he spoke and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

Olivia fell silent for a moment. She’d expected to be condemned, but instead these people were unexpectedly warm, scattering all the lines Olivia had prepared.

"Water. Just water."

Olivia was bone‑deep tired. When Bologue and the others came back from the Land of Secrets, they’d felt a special kind of ease and comfort—but Olivia was different. Long ago she’d already lost any real concept of home.

"So what are you thinking about?" Wei’Er leaned closer to Olivia. "You look troubled."

"I... I’m thinking about something pretty pointless."

Olivia studied the sleek softness of Wei’Er’s fur, and suddenly realized that the time Serey had spent with them was probably longer than the time he’d spent with her. Maybe even the sincerity of his feelings was the same.

"I’m wondering what kind of life Serey lives here..."

Wei’Er judged succinctly, "A rotten one."

"Pretty much. He spends almost all day asleep, then goes out at night to indulge himself in the nightclubs of Oubos. And as his thrill threshold keeps rising, Serey has recently gone from audience to performer," Bode added from the side.

"Performer?"

Olivia frowned. She didn’t really understand things like nightclubs, but that didn’t stop her from catching the disgust in Bode’s tone.

"Yeah. Lately he’s obsessed with pole dancing, and supposedly he’s really good at it," Wei’Er said approvingly. "But none of us have seen it... no one wants to watch that kind of thing."

Olivia’s brow was practically knotted. It seemed Serey’s retirement life was even more multifarious than she imagined.

"Tell me, does that mean you care about him?" Wei’Er asked.

"I’m just curious," Olivia said. "Curious what he’s been doing while I was out there grinding my way through the world."

Wei’Er fell into an awkward silence, and Bode stepped in just in time. "What did you come here to do? Looking for Serey?"

"More or less," Olivia said. "All this time I’ve tried my best to avoid meeting him. I’m afraid I’ll do something out of control."

At that thought, the lethal Dagger slid soundlessly from Olivia’s sleeve, its sharp, icy gleam flickering.

"Exactly the kind of father‑daughter dynamic I’d pictured."

Wei’Er wasn’t the least bit nervous—she even sounded slightly gloating. Bode was more direct, letting out a raspy, thunderous laugh.

"Where is he now?" Olivia asked.

"Most likely still sleeping. The mess the Rebellious Royal Court has stirred up lately is pretty big; he’s been keeping his head down."

Wei’Er had barely finished speaking when footsteps sounded from the stairwell. A guy with disheveled hair and a body steeped in alcohol came shuffling down. One foot wore a slipper, the other was bare; his pajamas hung open and loose, the buttons fastened in all the wrong places.

It was hard to imagine how much alcohol he’d poured into himself to sleep that soundly. He plopped down right next to Olivia and spoke.

"Give me something to sober up, Bode."

Serey rubbed his aching eyes hard, then blinked at the stranger beside him. "Oh? A guest today, huh. Bologue’s friend?"

He looked more closely, then suddenly cackled like a madman. "Man, you kind of look like Olivia."

A murderous stare pinned itself to Serey’s body. The stranger at his side said nothing, and beneath the hazy black veil her blurred features sharpened, turning razor‑keen.

"Oh..."

Serey sobered up. His mind went completely blank as he said, "G‑good morning, Olivia."

Olivia swung the Dagger up and slashed straight for Serey’s throat.

Bode and Wei’Er’s screams overlapped in a rising chorus.