Endless Debt

"This enhancement is equally effective for our enemies."

Mamo rubbed his forehead vigorously, "I’m not questioning your resolve, Bologue; I’m just very concerned. We have been battling the Devils for centuries; I might be able to defeat them, but I can’t kill them..."

"No, I believe I have a way to kill them."

Mamo was stunned; he looked at Bologue in confusion, doubting whether he heard correctly, only to see Bologue speaking with great seriousness.

"Bet, a wager with the Devils; if we can win the bet against them, they will be constrained by their own power."

"A duel initiated against the Devils? Are you sure?" Mamo asked.

"I’m sure, I’m sure this is a means to victory," Bologue’s voice suddenly fell, "but I’m also uncertain whether I can defeat them in the duel of the wager."

"King Solomon had a plan named the New World." Bologue suddenly said.

"He cast countless souls into the endless void and then retrieved these blank souls. From one such soul, he found the coordinates of another world."

Now, Bologue disclosed this important information effortlessly, without any psychological burden.

"Go on."

Mamo’s expression changed slightly, yet he maintained his composure.

"According to my speculation, he might have intended to use the coordinates of the New World to lead the people of the Material Realm across to escape the Devils’ hunt. But, on closer consideration, this is clearly impossible; our possession of souls establishes a direct link to the Ethereal Realm. When we arrive in the New World, the Devils will find it too."

Bologue continued, "I guess King Solomon intended to give the New World as a hunting ground to the Devils, allowing them to harvest another world, shifting the focus of the Ethereal Realm to preserve the survival of the Material Realm."

"But King Solomon was evidently not such a narrow-minded and timid person." Mamo had never met King Solomon, but from Solomon’s deeds, he felt he had enough understanding of him.

"King Solomon was well aware that even if he handed over the coordinates of the New World to the Devils, it would only be a delaying tactic. After consuming that world, they could return to the Material Realm, or even use it as an exploration base, allowing the Scholars to continuously search for the New World, indulging themselves greatly."

"Indeed," Bologue nodded, "for this reason, I am also unsure of what the New World Plan eventually became; after all, everything ended with the Fall of the Holy City."

Bologue told a small lie; everything hadn’t ended. He was the body of a Soulless one, the soul of the New World; Bologue believed he must have some crucial role, though he hadn’t figured it out yet.

Mamo asked again, "If we win all this, what then?"

After this, after this... the two had already spoken too much about the future, trying to push the world toward a perfect future before calling it quits.

"I don’t know, absolutely don’t know," Bologue’s smile was bitter, "even if we do resolve the Devils, choke off the otherworldly invaders, and stop the intrusion of the Ethereal Realm into the Material Realm, there is still an underlying issue."

"Where do the otherworldly invaders come from," Mamo said, "since they can be exiled here, then the people of the invader’s world will eventually discover us, and by that time, we may not even have the ability to resist."

The world of the otherworldly invaders, their utilization of Ether far exceeds that of the Condensers of the Material Realm—from the moment the invader was exiled as a criminal, sparking hundreds of years of conflict—it is evident they are powerful.

Despairingly suffocatingly powerful.

Mamo softly said, "The Ethereal Realm is much bigger than we anticipated, isn’t it, Bologue?"

Bologue moved his body; he felt all his muscles and bones were about to stiffen in one piece.

"Yes, each time I dive into the Ethereal Realm, I always think it is only as large as what I can see; but now, it seems that what I have glimpsed is merely a very small part."

Bologue spoke and summoned Ether, a nearly tangible etheric light mass slowly rose, radiating Bologue’s unique cyan glow.

"As we understand, the Ethereal Realm overlaps with the Material Realm dimensionally like a shadow."

Under the giant light mass, Bologue created another tiny light dot, pointing at this light dot, he said, "This is the Material Realm where we reside, while this massive light mass is the invader’s world," Bologue pondered for a moment and continued, "let’s tentatively call his world ’Terminal World’."

From the light mass of the Terminal World, a radiant trajectory extended; it reached the light dot representing the Material Realm, connecting them together.

"Terminal World and Material Realm don’t touch, nor have any connection, but with the invader’s arrival, overlapping with two worlds, the Ethereal Realm indirectly connects Terminal World to the Material Realm."

Bologue concluded, "The invader can be exiled to our world; similarly, we can follow his exiled trajectory to find the Terminal World."

"After this..."

Bologue murmured, "After this, I’m not sure if what awaits us is a new round of war or a leap in human civilization."

"Well, let’s overcome the immediate challenges first."

Bologue spoke and stood up; he seemed much more exhausted yet his eyes remained bright.

"Are you leaving?" Mamo asked.

"Yes, I decided to return to the Order Bureau."

"Is there something urgent?"

"I heard the envoy from the All Secrets Order has arrived," Bologue said, "I feel this is an opportunity to unite the All Secrets Order."

"Things may not be as you wish," Mamo said, "Humans are a complex species; sometimes, knowing the ship is going to sink, they still choose to fight each other first, which I think is why King Solomon chose to act alone.

He couldn’t ensure everyone would sacrifice themselves, but Solomon could be sure of one thing—he would never back down."

"I know, I know, but don’t worry, I’m not King Solomon, nor any laughable idealist."

Bologue forcefully combed his hair, pulling all the drooping strands behind his head.

"I am an Undead; I have plenty of chances to err. As for the rest..."

Bologue smiled at Mamo.

"I will use my sword to convince everyone."