Endless Debt

All along, in Bologue's mind, two strange feelings coexisted, one being that the Devil is undefeatable, the other that the Decision Room is omnipotent.

Now the undefeatable myth has been broken, and a glimmer of hope appeared in Bologue's conception of destroying the Devils. He asked urgently.

"What did you do?"

Nesanel said, "It's simple, just like a normal transaction, find a loophole in the Blood Contract, complete the deal, and deceive the Devil."

Bologue still couldn't quite believe it, "Is it really so?"

He looked skeptically at Nesanel, this carefree fellow, who also carried a somewhat unserious vibe; Bologue needed to confirm his words several times.

Nesanel's expression hesitated for a moment, and Bologue squinted his eyes. Indeed, this old fox had few truthful words coming out of his mouth; Bologue even began to wonder how he became the deputy director.

"We won, but not completely victorious."

Indeed! Bologue continued to press, "Are you sure?"

Nesanel fell silent, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to inform Bologue of this intelligence.

In the past, only the core authorities within the Order Bureau could know this information, though there were exceptions like Lebius who could be privy to this knowledge.

For ordinary employees, knowing too much was instead a curse. After all, regardless of who it was, thinking about a strange Devil lurking in the depths of the supposedly safe Cultivation Room would make them doubt their responsibilities.

"In fact, the dealings between Devils and humans are often not settled in one go," Nesanel said. "Like trades in human society, there are similar forms in Devil dealings with us, such as gambling agreements."

"A wager?"

"You're not wrong to understand it that way," Nesanel said, "we first gain the Devil's power, then establish a wager; if we win, we gain everything, if we lose, we lose it all."

Bologue felt his understanding of the Order Bureau was being refreshed, "You made a wager with a Devil, and because of the content of the wager, the Devil was bound in the Order Bureau, while you... gained the Devil's power without any cost."

"Not entirely without cost," Nesanel scratched his head, "let's just say, under the constraints of the wager, when we need certain help, the Devil will give us a reasonable friendly price."

Bologue's head ached intensely, the conversation with Nesanel carried too much information, even he was having trouble processing it all now.

"Why?"

Bologue didn't understand, repeatedly questioning, "Why?"

Nesanel said, "For qualification, and for shelter, Bologue. Without the presence of a Devil behind us, how could we intervene in the Devils' disputes?"

"What is this, finding a 'puppet' for yourself, participating in the Devils' dispute in his name?"

"More or less, based on the wager's content, the Devil doesn't care who the winner of the dispute is," Nesanel said. "This dispute has gone on for many years, even though the Devils cannot defeat each other, the power they left in the mortal world can be interfered with and destroyed."

"That Devil has no more chips, and without relying on the Order Bureau, he would lose disastrously in the dispute."

Nesanel indifferently said, "It's both a wager and mutual exploitation."

Bologue didn't respond immediately; he recalled the scenarios of interactions with Devils in his mind.

Those frenzied, sinister beings rampaged through the world like a rampant storm, bringing endless grief and harvesting souls.

Bologue understood what Nesanel was saying. Without mutual utilization with the Devils, the Order Bureau would only be a castle facing the storm. But with the presence of Devils, the Order Bureau becomes part of the storm.

Bologue asked, "Could the entire Order Bureau be considered his Chosen One?"

"The Chosen One is unique; it can only be an independent individual."

Listening to Nesanel's answer, Bologue already had an answer in his heart regarding the identity of the Chosen One within the Order Bureau.

Bologue half-jokingly said, "Now there are two Chosen Ones in the Order Bureau. Will the Devil behind us make us crazy enough to fight each other?"

"How could that be? I've told you, we've bound that Devil; he can't do anything until the wager is complete."

Nesanel said, "Although it's not a complete victory, this is the most outrageous thing recorded that humans can do to a Devil."

He laughed as he spoke, "However, he seems to enjoy it too; being enslaved by humans should be a novel experience for him."

Bologue said, "And after the wager? The dispute will end one day."

Nesanel spoke frankly, "It's simple, either win or die."

"Is it worth it?"

Nesanel said seriously, "It's not a matter of worth, it's... this is the final conflict."

"The final conflict?"

Bologue didn't understand; it seemed as if Nesanel implied the world was nearing its end.

"Since ancient times, Devils have initiated numerous conflicts, and they've gone through countless reshuffles, but none of those conflicts have been as complex and mad as this one. Every Devil has poured their power into this conflict, wanting to emerge victorious."

Bologue asked, "What is the cause of this conflict?"

"That Devil didn't tell us, but from historical patterns, we can summarize some answers... some very dreadful answers."

Nesanel retorted to Bologue, "How is your history skills?"

"I didn't attend college... but I've read many books."

Bologue wasn't keen to talk about these things; back then, he had enlisted to save money for college, only to encounter the Scorched Earth Wrath.

"Oh..." Nesanel apologized, "Over these years, we've been investigating past histories. From the fragmented histories among countries, we've concluded this pattern: after every insane war, a massive population die-off occurs, and once the war ends, rapid revival begins..."

"Isn't that a rational phenomenon?"

Bologue interrupted Nesanel. War, development, war... human history is a tale of war evolution; he was very clear on this.

"It's a rational phenomenon, but overly rational becomes irrational."

Nesanel said, "It's as if someone meticulously calculated everything. Every century, a war breaks out among the countries, while the war's scale, duration, and population deaths all increment at a fixed rate proportionally."

Bologue murmured, "The Devils are covertly interfering with the course of history."

"It's not just interfering with history's course; accurately speaking, interfering with history is merely a byproduct of their real purpose," Nesanel conveyed to Bologue, "Your previous metaphor was very accurate: the world is a vast market, and the Devils are greedy merchants..."

Bologue whispered, "The Devils' conflict serves not only to resolve their mutual disputes but is also a grand harvest of souls. By inciting crazy wars, they devour more souls, ending the war only to plunge the world into a brief peace, awaiting the next harvest."

"They are like ranchers, and we are the lambs within the fences," Nesanel said lightly, "Fatten up the lambs and then slaughter them, repeatedly cycling."

Bologue asked, "So why do you see this as the final conflict?"

"This is the intelligence we pried from the mouth of that Devil. He didn't say it explicitly but constantly hinted at us through some indirect information," Nesanel said, "The scale of war, the Devils' greed, the mortals' power, all these are continuously strengthening with the change of the times."

"Think about Scorched Earth Wrath, Bologue. When the Devils have accumulated their power and their Chosen Ones raise their swords to fight, it will be a destruction far worse than the Scorched Earth Wrath."

Nesanel hadn't personally experienced the Scorched Earth Wrath, but he understood how terrifying it was. To this day, the Narrow Countries still have many abandoned cities, stretching from the Kagader Empire to the Mountain Ridge. Whether in forests and wilderness or riverways and plains, everywhere is buried with the remnants of steel.

Another war, far worse than the Scorched Earth Wrath, is quietly waiting on the other end of history, just waiting for time to arrive.

The end of war.

"Think carefully about what disputes and ongoing wars the world has experienced in the last century."

Nesanel stretched his hands, placing them on Bologue's shoulders. The two were so close that Bologue could smell the scent of alcohol on Nesanel.

For a moment, the historical axis in Bologue's cognition stretched forward again. He always thought the origin of modern disputes was the Scorched Earth Wrath. The subsequent Fall of the Holy City, the secret war, and everything happening now were just extensions of the Scorched Earth Wrath, but clearly, Bologue's vision was too limited.

The past conflicts were so close, yet Bologue had not realized at all.

"Dawn War."

Bologue suddenly realized.

Yes, the rise of the Eternal Night Empire and the allied secret societies marked the first truly extraordinary war fought in the shadows of history.

"That was the Devils' first defeat; their conflict was disrupted by the power of mortals. The Eternal Night Empire had yet to start a large-scale soul harvest when it burned away in the dawn."

In Nesanel's narrative, Bologue suddenly understood why Nesanel cared so much about his identity as the Chosen One and why the Order Bureau needed the Devils' protection to participate in this final conflict.

This made Bologue recall what Nesanel told him about the purpose of the Special Operations Group. It was an action group entirely composed of Debtors, having intricate ties with the Devils, achieving one objective after another under fate's mockery for the Devils.

Or perhaps awaken, rebel against fate, and at the critical moment, strike that fatal blow.

"You want me to become Serey."

Bologue understood, "Another Serey Villeries."