Endless Debt

At the bottom of the Great Rift, in the Abandoned Land of Ashes, where Calamity lurks...

The Holy City of Remongedon, King Solomon's sacred city, has stood silently here since the Fall of the Holy City sixty-six years ago, echoing across the distance like a Shadow City with Oath City Oubos.

Endless flames of war during Scorched Earth Fury couldn't destroy this city, and sixty-six years later, neither could the burning and ashes of Calamity. It stands here eternally, like an obelisk that never collapses.

The thunderous roar sounded again, like a bell being struck, but this city is dead now, unable to awaken anyone. Then the scorching winds were cast out from behind the city walls, blowing over the ashes, spreading to the distant surroundings and the rift.

Bologue stood numbly beneath the magnificent city walls, which shielded him from most of the heatwave. Burning embers rose endlessly behind the high walls, and one could vaguely hear the eerie sound of the wind, resembling the whispers and roars of some monster.

"A light..."

Bologue whispered. Now, through personal experience, he had fully proven that long-standing hypothesis.

The Fall of the Holy City was not as simple as the official records claimed. At least, there was indeed some force akin to "a light".

Whether it destroyed both warring parties, Bologue wasn't sure, but it was certain that the formation of the Great Rift and the sinking of the Holy City into the rift must be related to it.

The earth shifted, all things burned, under his wrath, sulfur streaked across the sky, and everyone turned into pillars of salt...

This was a power beyond all, one even a Seeker of Glory might find difficult to achieve.

"Bestowed with the holy crown..."

Bologue murmured to himself. For a moment, all sounds vanished from his ears, leaving only the echoes of memory.

Bologue still remembered his previous conversation with Teda, where they discussed King Solomon's might and the destruction of the Fall of the Holy City.

Bologue once thought the destruction of the Holy City was merely a casualty of the long conflict between the Kagader Empire and the Rhine Alliance. But after becoming a Condenser and learning all these secrets, he found there might be other reasons behind the Fall of the Holy City.

King Solomon was not only a master of Alchemy but also a Seeker of Glory.

King Solomon was too close to the "Secret Source", so close that he might have been the first recorded Crowned in history...

"So he was destroyed..."

Bologue murmured.

All official records are untrustworthy. Bologue did not know what the war between the two colossal forces was truly about, but he knew for sure that King Solomon's emergence must have disrupted the balance between them.

From Bologue's perspective, he thought King Solomon probably didn't truly touch the actual crown. He was more likely discovered while ascending to become a Crowned, and both sides tacitly agreed to a truce and turned their forces towards King Solomon.

It's unimaginable how terrifying the power of a Crowned would be, but unfortunately, Bologue couldn't witness it. King Solomon was already dead.

From the moment King Solomon upset the balance, the bloodthirsty warring sides would never let him live.

"To touch the crown and become the one absolute King."

As if revealing a secret not meant to be known, upon realizing all this, Bologue felt as if he was being watched.

It was as if a curse had been placed on this secret, that anyone who knew would be detected by him. Bologue instinctively became wary, but all around him was just the gray deathly silence, with no life other than Calamity.

Bologue raised his head again, looking up at the ash-laden high walls and the sparks drifting out from behind them.

Behind this high wall once seemed to be the Celestial Kingdom, but now only the dead silence of Hell lies beyond it.

Bologue then gazed at the steep cliffs surrounding him, the rift constantly spreading, leaving terrifying scars on the earth.

If this entire deduction is correct, then Bologue understood why the Great Rift came to be.

This was a dying retaliation by a potential Crowned, just inches away from wearing that holy crown. Even without truly becoming the Crowned, Bologue believed that at that moment, King Solomon should have wielded that power beyond all.

Thus, in his final moments, King Solomon pierced through the earth, leaving this terrifying scar to ensure the world would forever remember his existence, along with his Holy City, which will remain here forever.

"Bologue, are you okay?"

Aimou spoke, noticing that Bologue had been dumbfoundedly standing since a few minutes ago, occasionally clenching his fist or holding his breath.

"I'm fine... I'm fine."

Bologue replied simply, needing some time to digest all this information.

If the deduction is correct, it also reasonably explains the scene Bologue witnessed before, rains of fire and sulfur, everyone burning into pillars of salt...

King Solomon's power.

With repeated deep breaths, Bologue then thought of another matter, one that he had repeatedly questioned himself about and continuously doubted.

Oath City, Opus.

Why has this place become the continuation of war, why does it seem like the core of a whirlpool, attracting all sorts of demons and monsters to this city, why have those sinister devils all taken seats on this land, watching on as humans slaughter each other.

Now Bologue understands, it's never been the Oath City, Opus that was special, but the events that once transpired here, this Holy City of Raymond Gaudent that stood amid shadows, forgotten by the world, they are the original masters of this land.

King Solomon.

If King Solomon truly touched that sacred crown, then he must have some path to ascend to being a Crowned...

Yes, this is what drives people mad about this land, it is also the source of the endless dispute between the Order Bureau and the Rhine Alliance. Whoever masters all of this, discovers the buried secret, may be the first to become Crowned and break the balance of conflict.

Bologue starts to get a headache, this is truly not a good time to know secrets.

Realizing all this, Bologue also harbors doubts about the past's history, much like this city submerged in ashes, past secrets have yellowed with time, unless experienced personally, no one knows what really happened on this land in the past.

What makes Bologue doubt are those sinister and frenzied existences.

The Devils.

Judging by the damnable nature of the devils, whether it is the Scorched Earth Rage that triggered a bloody war in various countries, or the Fall of the Holy City that ended it all, Bologue believes the devils must be involved, and they are enjoying it greatly. Most importantly, what role do the devils play in this continent-devastating event?

Are they facilitators, or destroyers?

Bologue cannot figure it out, these matters can only be asked of those devils, and the price needed, it surely will be extremely high.

"The devils are really a damn bunch..."

Bologue exclaimed once more; since the beginning, Bologue has been drawn into the pitch-black fate of the devils, the more he advances, the more he entangles with the devils.

Recalling when he fell into the Great Rift, that numb and irresistible feeling, Bologue even thinks his fall here, the discovery of all this, was orchestrated in secret by the Tyrant, intentionally letting him see these, and instilling a thirst for the secrets of the past, to pay a much greater price.

Bologue stops pondering these matters; he braces himself, dragging his weary body towards the high walls.

In memory, until he lost consciousness, the besieging armies still failed to break through the gate's defense. It stands there, like a natural hazard, blocking all foreign enemies.

As he approaches, Bologue's mind gradually calms, he now has a peculiar feeling, returning here after sixty-six years feels like he is about to fulfill his original mission, to conquer this already dead city.

The pitch-black shadows gradually engulf Bologue, just as he was about to reach the bottom of the city wall, thunder rumbles once more, scorching hot flames sweep past his head, and the entire city becomes part of an apocalyptic scene in the fiery light.

Bologue reached the bottom of the city gate. After sixty-six years of burning and eroding, a thick layer of ashes stuck together, forming a gray-white shell attached on it.

After forcefully knocking it off, corroded metal surfaces become visible, full of various dents and countless cracks, all these testify to the battles it had endured in the past.

Rather than a city gate, it is better to say it is two towering iron walls, with a narrow gap that extends to the top, Bologue tried to push the city gate, but his strength was obviously insufficient to budge it an inch, and attempting to pry it open with a folding knife is out of the question.

It was immovable sixty-six years ago, and it's the same sixty-six years later.

Thundering sounds roared, scorching winds surged behind the city gate, and amidst the continuous tremors, the decayed white shell fell off, revealing an angel holding a Fire Sword engraved on the gate, two Fire Swords crossed, guarding the existence behind the gate.

A slight ray of light seeped through the gap, transforming into a burning white line that crossed Bologue's vision, reaching deep into the heavy shadows behind him.

"Come here..."

A voice echoed by his ear, summoning Bologue.

The emerald eyes slightly dilated, veiled in bewilderment, Bologue had no room to resist and was captured by this mysterious voice.

His hands gripped the gap between the gates, even though the searing metal burned his hands, Bologue did not stop, vowing to open this door.

Aimou, at this time, also realized something was wrong with Bologue, but she had been disassembled completely by Bologue, except for loudly calling Bologue's name, she could do nothing.

This time the thundering roar did not cease, in the shadows where light couldn't reach, scarlet things crawled out, like a horde of serpents, they slithered through the ashes on the ground, gradually closing in on Bologue.

Bologue was too close to Calamity, the influence he received was amplified, he thought he was normal, not realizing since he approached the Holy City, sinister pollution had already covered Bologue's will, like a potent poison, finally erupting at this moment.

"Bologue!"

Aimou shouted in panic, but Bologue could no longer hear her voice, stubbornly persisting in prying open the city gate.

Scarlet appendages crawled from behind at this moment, gradually entwining around Bologue's calves, then thighs, waist, throat, until Bologue was completely ensnared.

The appendages exerted slight pressure, and Bologue was like a squeezed fruit, blood squeezed out from the gaps, and Aimou's remaining body emitted a cracking metallic sound.

At the moment of impending doom, a heavy sound resonated, followed by a sharp whistle, a massive crossbow arrow descended, pinning the scarlet appendages to the ground.