Endless Debt

Nesanel took a deep breath repeatedly, he had speculated about Albert's plan, but in any case, he never expected Albert to actually do these things.

He brought in a Chosen One, and Nesanel believed that Albert must have known this when imprisoning Bologue, yet he withheld this information from everyone.

His eyes glanced at Bologue, who had no definite awareness of the identity of the Chosen One, and such a Chosen One had been locked in the Black Prison for sixty-six years.

Nesanel noticed that Albert did this deliberately, it was time to see him again, to verify his ideas, but before that...

"Bologue, why don't you start by talking about your perception of the beginning of the Fury of the Scorched Earth and the end of the Fall of the Holy City?"

Nesanel asked Bologue, "What do you think was the cause of all this?"

"The rise and expansion of the Kagader Empire led to conflict with the Rhine Alliance, evolving into a war sweeping across the continent."

As one of the most insane wars in modern and even the entirety of human history, the cause of the Fury of the Scorched Earth was common knowledge, and Bologue didn't understand the purpose of Nesanel's question.

"As for the Fall of the Holy City..."

When the Fall of the Holy City was mentioned, Bologue also seemed hesitant, for him, the Fall of the Holy City was truly a mystery.

The Kagader Empire and Rhine Alliance together destroyed King Solomon's Holy City, reducing it to burning ruins.

In previous conversations with Teda, Bologue had speculated that it was because King Solomon touched the Tier of the Crowned, thus leading to his extermination by both parties. In subsequent events, Bologue saw the ruins of the Holy City in the Abandoned Land...

"Is it because King Solomon reached the Crowned Tier that he was destroyed?"

Bologue proposed his conjecture, perhaps Nesanel could provide an answer.

Nesanel revealed a meaningful smile, "The Crowned? An interesting guess."

Bologue asked, "Does all of this have any relation to the Chosen One?"

"Hmm, hold on, let me tell you about the true origins of the war, you might understand quite a bit."

Nesanel poured a glass of wine for Bologue, and filled one for himself, then gently clinked glasses with Bologue.

"This is good stuff."

He raised his eyebrows at Bologue, much of the Field Operations Department's budget was spent by Nesanel enjoying life, aside from Belli, he was the one who should be thoroughly investigated.

"Bologue, do you think the devils are united?"

Faced with Nesanel's questioning, Bologue pondered for a moment, recalling the tyrant, Crimson Queen, Astronaut...

"No... they're not united."

Bologue analyzed rationally, "There's no need to deify the devils, at the end of the day, they're just a bunch of greedy merchants, desiring our souls, but souls are limited, greed is infinite."

"They are like a group of competing merchants, in the markets of this world, striving to plunder the wealth of souls."

"Exactly, that's it!"

Nesanel downed the wine in his glass, "The devils address each other as brothers and sisters, but they are not united, they see each other as enemies throughout countless histories, constantly attacking and fighting."

Bologue listened quietly.

"They are all devils, all-powerful, under the fiercest of conflicts, they can't ultimately defeat each other, so the devils have made agreements, when disputes arise among them, they will downgrade their own powers, and seek proxies to wage war for them.

This world is a grand gambling table, they are the gamblers, the proxies are the pieces on the table, bearing the devils' stakes, if a proxy loses, it means the devil behind them has lost."

Bologue's heart was stirred by Nesanel's words, he vaguely sensed something, a certain truth of a mystery was exposing its true side to him.

"There can be many proxies, such as debtors, all are pawns under the devils' debts, acting for them, but the pieces vary in status, they don't bear the devils' stakes, even if they die, it's inconsequential.

But the Chosen Ones are different, they bear stakes, like the king on the chessboard, if the Chosen One falls, it means the devil has fallen as well.

You... are the Chosen One of that devil, bearing his stake, becoming his king."

Nesanel extended his hand, pointing at Bologue himself, "How are you feeling now?"

Bologue was frozen in place, his mind blank.

Bologue, possessing the Time Reversing Axis, naturally knew he was of significant importance in the eyes of the devils, but he hadn't imagined there was this layer of meaning.

As for what the Astronaut once told him, about if he lost, the Astronaut also lost.

Bologue actually didn't mind much, he entirely considered it devilish rhetoric, hearing such words from the tyrant was already more than enough.

Rarely, this time the devils were not joking.

Nesanel showed a cruel smile, "The good news is, we know why you're so deeply connected with the devils' umbilical cord, the bad news is, Bologue, you seem to be caught in the devils' strife."

Bologue ignored Nesanel's mockery and instead focused on something else.

"So, the Rage of the Scorched Earth appears to be a war sweeping across nations, but in reality, it's just another... conflict among the devils."

"Yes, that's right, battles among the Chosen Ones, ultimately ending with the destruction of the Fall of the Holy City."

Nesanel confirmed Bologue's speculation, which was what he intended to tell Bologue.

An intense cold descended, causing Bologue to feel a headache. The information Nesanel provided was limited, yet it filled Bologue with a sense of pressure.

Now, Bologue is becoming more entangled with the mysteries of history.

He murmured to himself, "Whether it's the Rage of the Scorched Earth or the Fall of the Holy City, they are only reflections of the devils' conflicts in reality..."

Just as Jeffrey discussed with him when he joined, the devils are influencing the course of history, manipulating the world from behind the scenes. Now, Bologue truly confronts that dark conspiracy, feeling an unprecedented sense of helplessness.

"Then what of the Fall of the Holy City? What role did King Solomon play in this conflict?"

Bologue further pressed, excitedly watching Nesanel.

With a deeper understanding of the world and a gradual revelation of past mysteries, Bologue finds himself seemingly closely linked to the Fall of the Holy City and King Solomon.

"The currently known information is that the devils' conflicts sparked the Rage of the Scorched Earth. Their Chosen Ones represent various forces, continuously battling each other, and King Solomon was one of these Chosen Ones."

Bologue exclaimed in shock, "King Solomon? A Chosen One?"

"Yes, King Solomon also had a devil standing behind him."

"Then the destruction of the Holy City..."

"Several Chosen Ones reached an agreement to jointly eliminate this competitor first."

Bologue fell silent for a moment, "What did King Solomon do to make other Chosen Ones temporarily set aside their differences and choose to prioritize his destruction?"

Compared to the Rhine Alliance and Kagader Empire, King Solomon's power seemed so weak. He was the least competitive among the many Chosen Ones.

So King Solomon must have posed a significant threat in other aspects, such as... the Crowned.

"I don't know," Nesanel said nonchalantly, "In fact, even now, we haven't understood much about the specifics of the Fall of the Holy City."

Bologue said, "Because the participants all died? A light, a light that destroyed all life, including King Solomon."

A slight surprise flickered in Nesanel's eyes, he laughed, "You know more than I expected."

"I've always been investigating these matters."

"Almost right, all participants in the Fall of the Holy City died, along with King Solomon. Thus, that segment of history is lost forever, perhaps only the dead know the entire truth."

Bologue continued, "But we definitely know something, don't we? We won the secret war, occupying Oubos, and its predecessor, the ruins of the Holy City are buried beneath the Abandoned Land below the Great Rift."

As if struck by thunder in his mind, Bologue suddenly awoke, staring directly at Nesanel.

"I see... that's why the devils gathered in Oubos, even after the Fall of the Holy City, countless conflicts still revolve around this city."

Nesanel maintained his smile, saying little.

"King Solomon accomplished something, something that threatened all Chosen Ones, even the devils. They originally intended to completely eradicate this threat, but they didn't expect King Solomon to use that light to destroy everyone."

King Solomon and the participants both died, but that entity wasn't destroyed; it lies buried somewhere on this land, constantly emitting threats. As long as it hasn't been eradicated, the conflicts will never cease."

This is a long-lasting war, with the devils' desires far from being satisfied. Only when a true winner is decided can the world find brief peace.

And then begin the next conflict.

"Similar to our assumptions."

Nesanel looked at Bologue with admiration, "The worst part is, we're unaware of what exactly King Solomon did, only knowing that some unknown threat exists."

Knowing the existence of something, but merely knowing its existence, with no other information.

"Everyone died..."

Bologue murmured, "No... not everyone died."

From the radiance that consumed everything, one person survived, even if he forgot the experience.

Bologue felt a weight pressing on his chest, he tentatively asked.

"Could that unknown entity be me?"