Endless Debt Chapter 1040 - 99: Submission to... (Part 3)

She is Nesanel’s Muse Goddess, her every movement a dancing note, performing a symphony of life that completely enthralls Nesanel.

"I also regret, regret that I never told you how important you are to me."

Even though Nesanel is a Seeker of Glory, the Deputy Director of the Order Bureau, sometimes he still feels that the ideals for all humanity are too heavy a burden.

Nesanel whispered, "But if this is your wish..."

If it were just for an illusory last wish.

The woman smiled without speaking, and Nesanel remained silent.

Time flowed quietly as Albert observed everything until Nesanel broke the silence.

He looked reluctantly at the woman, then turned his cold gaze to Albert, softly saying, "Regulation One."

"Regulation One," Albert nodded in response.

Nesanel vanished into the darkness, leaving the Inverted Hall.

"Does this mean I persuaded him?" Albert muttered to himself.

"No, he’s just missing a pillar, the things that supported him have already been burned away in the flames of truth. The reason he looks like that is simply because he urgently needs another pillar."

The woman said, "Like my wish, for example."

"Is he really that easy to manipulate?" Albert didn’t understand.

"He just loves me too much, even an apparition will bring him comfort."

"An apparition?"

Albert raised his phantom hand; both he and the woman were merely virtual personas constructed by the masses, their supposed self-awareness simulated by data.

They were once real, but now are mere apparitions.

Albert muttered to himself in his heart, "At least our will is still real."

Something was coming, causing their conversation to halt naturally.

Invisible dark forces permeated.

The air was filled with the scent of blood and decay, accompanied by the deep, terrifying sound of water lapping, as the weak and unknown creatures’ corpses were pushed ashore.

The two heard the animals’ frantic cries and moans.

He came.

Dressed in a bulky, cumbersome diving suit, he arrived riding the dark tide.

"Long time no see, Albert."

The Astronaut saw Albert, nodded at him, and looked at the woman, complimenting, "Thank you for your sacrifice, madam, otherwise I wouldn’t have thought of a way to deceive my blood kin."

The woman bowed to the Astronaut, "All for the ’New Future’."

While Belphegor was bound by the Order Bureau, he also restrained the Bureau; Belphegor has always doubted the Decision Room, thinking he had corrupted the woman, yet never realizing that the secret war was a lie that deceived everyone.

"Does he believe it?" Albert asked.

The Astronaut said, "He believes it."

The woman is Belphegor’s Chosen One, an independent extension within the masses, isolated at the soul level, and physically encapsulated and blocked by them.

The woman’s self-awareness is completely gone; the one talking to the Astronaut now is merely a simulation by the masses, meaning, Belphegor’s Chosen One is now just a living corpse.

Besides sensing his Chosen One in the core of the Decision Room, Belphegor couldn’t obtain any useful information.

That was enough.

Though the Astronaut allied with Belphegor, he knew his blood kin’s suspicion all too well; an airtight wall would only make him anxious, so the Astronaut had to let Belphegor know something, a few words of assurance.

"What about the others?"

"With Mammon’s proclamation, I think they all believe it," the Astronaut said, "They all think that I will continue to follow King Solomon’s plan to explore the New World and earn the crown of the King of Demons."

His laughter was relentless, "The plan is going smoothly, and Bologue did a great job, attracting everyone’s attention."

"No one could have imagined my connection with you all, and as for the identity of Bologue’s Chosen One, everyone is equally convinced... even Bologue himself."

The Astronaut took a deep breath, and even as a devil, he couldn’t help but feel excited about what was to come.

"Let us begin."

Darkness swallowed everything, Albert and the woman vanished, leaving only the masses silently operating in the dark.

The Astronaut departed the Inverted Hall; when he reappeared, he was Between Nothingness, on a desolate earth with Moon Dust swirling, and this time he didn’t gaze at the stars but looked down at the land beneath his feet.

...

Aimou sat upright in the armed train speeding along the tracks. By job description, she was merely an accompanying researcher responsible for the security of the cargo, a task she frequently performed, but today, this routine task kept her in a state of high tension.

Aimou wasn’t the only one tense; accompanying her was Balder, who, after leaving the Sublimation Furnace Core, no longer wore the heavy protective clothing but donned an Alchemy Armor full of sharp edges, transforming him from a researcher into an Ancient Knight.

A murderous atmosphere concentrated at the other end of the carriage; not only were they fully armed, but also Mamo, a Seeker of Glory from the Scholars’ Hall.

As alchemists and researchers, they rarely left the protection of the Cultivation Room; Mamo couldn’t even remember the last time he saw the sky.