Endless Debt Chapter 4 - 1 Expert

Rhein Calendar 1244, Oubos.

Bologue sat by the roadside, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his expression unreadable.

"Adelle, I'm nearly finished with your revenge."

He murmured to himself, casually flicking the still-burning cigarette butt forward. It bounced, sparked, and then vanished into the small river that flowed nearby.

The river surged, hastily making its way from one end of the visible expanse to the other under the cover of night.

Oubos is home to numerous such rivers; they all diverge from a grander waterway that meanders through the land, known as the Rhine River.

This great river traverses various countries, and according to legend, its origins lie deep within the Rhine Alliance. However, Bologue has never ventured that far and wonders if he'll ever have the opportunity to confirm this tale.

He lifted his gaze to the distant skyline, which resembled a series of mountain ranges. Then, he lowered his head, his eyes falling upon his own hand, which still pulsed with a faint glow—or perhaps, it was his veins.

Within his pale, unhealthy palm, a bluish light flickered intermittently. It emanated from the veins beneath his flesh, resembling electrified circuits, bursting with a radiant trajectory.

As a debtor, Bologue shared certain resemblances with a demon; for instance, a corner of his soul was conspicuously absent, revealing an abyss-like void.

This void created a gnawing hunger, a distortion that transformed him into a monstrous entity, compelling it to crave other souls. This, in turn, drove the debtor to seek the reclamation of his own soul.

Bologue was tormented by this sensation while confined in the Black Prison. Each time the hunger struck, the experience was agonizing.

It felt akin to... as if a miniature black hole had formed within his body, spinning and consuming everything. It greedily gnawed at its surroundings, swallowing bone and flesh alike, compressing all into a tight mass before collapsing it into that minuscule hole, leaving it drenched in blood.

Following the physical torment came the mental anguish—feelings of thirst, hunger, fatigue, sleepiness, and a cascade of negative emotions. He would attempt to sate these urges by drinking, eating, or sleeping, but regretfully, the void remained perpetually unsatisfied. Only a soul could truly placate and fill it.

Bulimia Nervosa, this is what the inhabitants of the Black Prison termed the symptoms when the void became agitated.

Whenever Bulimia Nervosa afflicted him, Bologue was tortured to such an extent that he felt an urge to bite the walls. Upon his release, he initially harbored concerns about its resurgence. However, after dispatching his first demon, he observed something peculiar.

Bluish specks.

Any demon Bologue vanquished would release these faint bluish specks upon its demise. During combat, he had questioned his adversaries a few times and deduced that he alone could perceive these unusual particles.

At first, Bologue was perplexed by their nature, dismissing them as mere anomalies stemming from his "Blessing" manifesting. But before long, he realized that he hadn't been troubled by Bulimia Nervosa for a considerable duration...

After consulting Geoffrey for pertinent information, Bologue managed to ascertain the true nature of these bluish specks.

Fragments of the soul.

As long as he continued to slay demons, Bologue could absorb these soul fragments from their remains.

He remained unaware of the origin of this peculiar ability, attributing it to a secondary power granted by the blood contract he had once entered into with the Devil.

In comparison to his "Blessing," Bologue derived far greater satisfaction from this newfound ability. Each time he felled a demon, the soul fragments would integrate into his being, mending the void within his soul, pacifying the hunger, and consequently delaying the onset of Bulimia Nervosa.

Like a famished specter after a substantial meal, Bologue experienced an immense sense of contentment after "feeding." He even harbored a thought that perhaps, by eliminating a sufficient number of demons, he might one day fully restore the missing portion of his soul, achieving complete wholeness.

Although such an outcome seemed exceedingly distant, after a year dedicated to demon slaying, it had only served to alleviate the torment of Bulimia Nervosa.

Yet, as long as he persisted in living and hunting, perhaps, just perhaps, it wasn't an entirely impossible dream.

The evening breeze carried a slight chill, inadvertently drawing his tattered garments tighter against his form. The fabric was riddled with holes, a testament to previous infernos.

He turned back; the church was engulfed in roaring flames. Bologue observed the charred ruins, contemplating whether to draw near the fire for warmth. However, upon noticing the cluster of people gathered by the roadside, he decided against it.

The church crumbled and collapsed amidst the raging conflagration, entombing the demon within its fiery embrace.

A rather poetic scene, yet Bologue found himself nursing a headache, already anticipating his boss's inevitable reprimand: "It was just a demon hunt, no need to incinerate an entire church," and similar complaints were sure to follow.

But such outcomes were, to some extent, unavoidable. Whenever Bologue became excessively engrossed in his "work," his awareness of his surroundings would inevitably wane.

"What rotten luck."

Bologue whispered; he considered himself a jinx, a recipient of persistent misfortune since his arrival in this world.

"It's been quite some time since I first arrived in this world."

As these thoughts occupied him, Bologue recalled his appearance prior to arriving in this city, or more accurately, his previous existence... at least, that's what he believed it to be.

Unlike a simple transmigration, Bologue seemed to have undergone a rebirth into this unfamiliar world.