Endless Debt

Bologue now firmly believes in a principle that, when you find yourself in a precarious situation in life, there’s often an even worse predicament waiting for you afterward.

The conflict with Raymond Gaudent indeed made Bologue’s heart tremble with fear, but it pales in comparison to the chance encounter with devils in the Ethereal Realm.

"It’s truly been a long time, hasn’t it, you two?"

Bologue remained composed, with the connection of the umbilical cord and entanglement, he performed a perfectly timed bow to the two, without panic, only poised decorum.

"This isn’t just a coincidence, is it?" Bologue asked again.

Beelzebub and Mammon did not answer, but from the sinister aura emanating from them, Bologue understood that this was not a coincidence at all but a meticulously planned trap.

The devils had grown weary of Bologue always disrupting their plans, and since they couldn’t directly intervene in the Material Realm, they decided to shift the battlefield to the Ethereal Realm.

However, what puzzled Bologue was that, given the devils’ power, they could completely obliterate any ascending Condensers in the Ethereal Realm... Or perhaps, he was too special.

This was also possible, for few could maintain consciousness during the ascension ceremony, and individuals like Bologue, who could directly form a self-consciousness within the Ethereal Realm, were exceedingly rare. Combined with the deep entwining, such circumstances led to the present scene.

"Are you going to kill me? Here in the Ethereal Realm," Bologue pressed on.

While confronting the devils, Bologue entertained one dangerous possibility after another in his mind.

Setting aside previous factors, Bologue believed that Condensers, during ascension, when their consciousness steps into the Ethereal Realm, couldn’t be easily interfered with by devils. There must be some rules within the Ethereal Realm, yet he hadn’t grasped them.

"Kill you? No, why would we?"

Beelzebub chuckled, her laughter enchanting, stirring thoughts. The last person who made Bologue feel this way was the Joyful Witch, Asmodeus.

"Then I suspect you aren’t here simply to greet me, are you?"

Bologue stepped back, the glow of the Secret Source blazing intensely behind him, like a steadfast sun.

"Not going to kill me? Or can’t kill me?" Bologue probed.

"Not can’t, just taking action here presents a hassle for us," Mammon discerned Bologue’s intent immediately, "So don’t test us, and don’t struggle, Bologue, it’s for the best for both you and me."

"The backlash of power, perhaps?"

Bologue recalled the tar corroding the Beast of the Herd, "You are the will of power, yet you cannot fully master it. In the Material Realm, while relying on the suppression of the Material Realm, you maintain a sort of balance with power, but in this Ethereal Realm, power is like a raging fire, careless handling could lead to self-immolation?"

Mammon remarked, "You always think too much, sometimes abandoning thought is a good choice."

"I just possess a curiosity beyond the ordinary," Bologue said, "It’s humanity’s most primitive, essential desire. As a devil, would you not understand this?"

"Precisely because I understand too well, I wish you’d be more obedient," Mammon stepped forward, "Sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing."

Bologue cautiously retreated, "If you don’t intend to kill me, then what do you want to do?"

"Just want you to take a long vacation, after all, killing a person can take many forms."

Beelzebub uttered eerie words, "Physically erase? Destroy social connections? Or perhaps completely annihilate your existence from all concepts? That’s quite a complex endeavor, especially since you are an Undead, no simple methods can suffice."

She raised her hand, making a grappling gesture.

"Bologue, rest in the Ethereal Realm for a while, whether it’s a hundred years, or a thousand... enduring solitude shouldn’t be difficult for you, should it?"

Shadows stirred, the tar resurfaced, and this time they weren’t shattered by the storm, instead, they resisted the storm’s assault, steadily creeping toward Bologue.

Darkness fully enveloped the Icefield, they came from all sides, and those frozen figures standing upon the Icefield were not spared, each sinking into the tar as if this pitch-black liquid belonged to another deeply forbidden world.

"Your body will not perish, and your consciousness will just be temporarily sealed,"

"You will return one day, but that’s a matter for the distant future." Beelzebub slowly clasped her hands, in the disputes over the millennia, she rarely lost composure like this, directly taking action against a mortal in the Ethereal Realm. Yet Bologue... Leviathan pressed her too hard.

Beelzebub and Mammon gained nothing in the Golden Palace, instead they let the Beast of the Herd suffer heavy damage and perish, losing this world’s Calamity.

King Solomon’s vengeance.

Devils are constrained by the Material Realm’s limitations, likewise, in the Material Realm nothing truly could harm them. Yet in the scorching retaliatory strike, the Golden Palace was situated in the gap between two worlds, amidst the overlay of the Material Realm and the Ethereal Realm. The revengeful fire brewing for nearly a century incinerated Beelzebub’s incarnation, burning those foul forbidden tar, part of her power, clean.

This significantly weakened Beelzebub’s power.

But if that were all, Beelzebub could endure. Yet in the destruction of the Golden Palace, she witnessed far more than that.