Endless Debt

"What I have deduced about the situation is roughly like this."

In the ward, Bologue sat upright, like a student delivering an academic report.

Mamo sat up on the bed, his head lowered, resembling an old man. Numerous infusion tubes were attached to him, making him look like a machine waiting for repairs.

"I don’t think this is a random opportunity," Bologue hesitated.

"What do you mean?"

"The moment we discovered the truth is not a coincidence, but seemed like it was scheduled by someone," Bologue brewed his words for a moment, then continued, "as if... someone had long devised a grand plan, and we are all just a part of it, executing different tasks at each time point."

"Be more specific, my comprehension is somewhat poor right now."

Mamo said as he rubbed his head, still dazed from the pain, only to have his sanity shattered by the truth of the Secret Source. Now Mamo’s mind was in a mess, and it was difficult for him to think through whatever Bologue was saying.

"The rising ether concentration in the Material Realm, and its increasing overlap with the Ethereal Realm, is strengthening the connection between the two realms. As humans thereby attain stronger Alchemy Matrixes, the Devil too feels powerless against humanity’s increasing strength."

Bologue poured out his thoughts all at once, "So, the Devils claim this will be the final conflict, intending to completely harvest all souls in one fell swoop, utterly collapsing humanity’s existing technological system... defeating the Secret Source."

Mamo looked down, his ancient face devoid of expression, "And after that?"

"If the Devils win, they will acquire endless souls and a barren world... And then what?"

Mamo speculated, "Will they start breeding some humans again? Perhaps, as the Source of Power for the Condensers, once the Secret Source is completely destroyed, the Condensers will cease to exist, and the Devils won’t have to worry about humans mastering Extraordinary Power anymore; they could continue their endless harvest."

"But I’m afraid even the outcome of breeding humans won’t exist," Bologue whispered.

Mamo’s body trembled slightly as he recalled the omens witnessed during Bologue’s ascension ceremony.

As the ether concentration rises, the energy level of the Material Realm will be elevated to an unimaginable extent. At that time, what awaits is not an extraordinary world but a Material Realm shattered and demolished under the horrific gravity of the Ethereal Realm.

The Ethereal Realm, like a giant worm, will devour all the nourishment from humanity and the Material Realm completely.

"Souls, what exactly do they need so many souls for?" Mamo muttered.

Mamo’s life witnessed the end of the Scorched Earth Fury and the rise of the Order Bureau. His entire life was spent battling these vile insanity, yet until the end of his life he still saw no signs of the war ending.

"To repay their own debt, perhaps," Bologue responded.

"A debt? The Devils’ own debt?" Mamo realized that Bologue’s intelligence gathering in the Ethereal Realm had unveiled more than just the truth about the Secret Source.

Upon bringing up this part, Bologue paused for a moment and looked around. Apart from him and Mamo, only Aimou and Belli were in the room.

"Do you need us to step out for a moment?"

The always silent Belli spoke up, with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall by the door.

At this moment, Belli’s feelings were as complex as Mamo’s, with mixed emotions stirring in her chest. She wasn’t sure whether to feel sad for Mamo or excited upon knowing the truth.

"No... there’s no need," Bologue shook his head, "after this, I will submit these pieces of information to the Decision Room. I estimate the Decision Room will, to some extent, share it with you ministers, and maybe even with other forces."

Bologue softly said in his heart, "This time, we can’t go solo."

"Speak your mind, Bologue, I’m not dead yet."

Mamo said, exuding a strong ethereal fluctuation that completely enveloped the ward. Just relying on the Glory Seeker Level’s ethereum mutual exclusion, he could block most prying eyes.

"In terms of extraordinary energy levels, the Material Realm is an isolated system. Its self-circulation has always been stable until the arrival of that outsider."

Bologue was not a scholar, nor had he ever presented an academic report. He tried using a way others could comprehend to express his inner thoughts.

"I speculate that the essence of the outsider is the jet-black tar I saw in the Ethereal Realm... I’m not saying he is a ’tar’; it’s more like a symbolic manifestation, similar to the storm of the Secret Source."

Bologue continued, "According to King Solomon’s memories, and the decryption on the Initial Scroll, he made a deal with the earliest humans, promising their imperfect desires and distributing his power to them—eight in number."

By now, one could say Bologue was quite the expert on Devils. He understood the traps Devils set in desires and their own pathetic nature.

"I believe at the moment the deal was struck, those eight people were already dead. What survived was merely the essence of their desire. They were guided by the inertia of their desires, tirelessly harvesting souls for thousands of years and yearning to defeat their kin for more power, to make their incomplete desires perfect."