Endless Debt-Chapter 903 - 36: King of Demons_2
Bologue slowly looked up, gazing at the bright light hidden between the clouds, he murmured.
"You’re watching me, aren’t you?"
Bologue’s laughter gradually twisted.
"Yeah, astronauts should be above the firmament."
The perspective kept rising, surpassing the buildings, penetrating the sea of clouds, and broke free from the constraints of gravity to reach that outer world.
On the gray-white land, within a giant ring mountain, the astronaut sat leisurely as always, watching the images on the screen.
With the help of that towering machine, the astronaut managed to observe the changes in the ether concentration of the entire world, the ether’s surges painted a picture like a weather chart.
The astronaut picked up a notebook, comparing the dates on it with the images currently displayed on the screen.
"Hmm... The Ethereal Vortex Point has increased by several percentage points compared to before."
Just a glance, and the astronaut could process this complex information, something not difficult at all for a devil.
"The ether concentration is still continuously rising..."
The astronaut scribbled and wrote line after line in the notebook.
"What is this thing?"
Another voice rang out, seldom do guests visit Between Nothingness. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Belphegor picked up an alarm clock, its casing made of sturdy iron, looked very durable, seemingly designed for users with morning temper and able to withstand numerous drops.
The clock hands moved extremely slowly, one could say they were completely stalled, suspended a few minutes before midnight, just a slight shift and all hands could align.
Flipping the alarm clock over, Belphegor saw a line of information, from production date to manufacturing company, production batch, everything was complete.
"Are you trying to maintain a good routine? You even bought an alarm clock,"
Belphegor joked, knowing things appearing here were rarely simple, "where did you buy it?"
The astronaut said casually, "Oubos, Shenbei District, a secondhand shop called ’Charlie’s House’."
Before Bologue moved in with Palmer, he had always lived in Shenbei District, and Charlie’s House was a shop Bologue frequently visited, many of his records were found there.
"Don’t damage it, this thing is quite an old object."
"I can see that," Belphegor noticed a line of small text on the back of the clock, "One-year anniversary of the End of Scorched Earth? Even this kind of thing can be sold as a souvenir?"
The astronaut said, "Its appearance signifies its value, you know it’s quite valuable now as a collectible."
"Then... what significance does it have here?"
Belphegor asked, then noticed the clock face’s hands nearly stilled, almost overlapping, aimed towards midnight.
He could sense the hands weren’t stalled, instead moving forward at a nearly imperceptible pace.
"Countdown."
The astronaut waved the notebook, "Based on the current rate of ether concentration rise, countdown, when it will reach the critical value."
"Doomsday Clock?"
Belphegor’s voice grew excited, he continued, "Using a peace souvenir for a doomsday countdown, that’s an amazing idea!"
He enjoyed the bit of dark humor, cautiously placing the alarm clock back, then Belphegor sat beside the astronaut, watching the screen together.
"So have you found it yet?"
The astronaut shook his head, "Not yet, the rise in ether concentration obscures it too."
Belphegor said, "We don’t have much time left, as ether concentration rises, it’ll become increasingly secretive."
"Don’t worry, we still have another way to find it, right?"
The astronaut whispered, "Completely defeating the other kin, seizing their power."
Belphegor was silent for a while, he said, "Are you joking? If this method solved the issue, why have we been struggling for so long?"
The devils’ conflict seemed crazy but maintained a restrained state, allowing a winner’s existence yet never permitting the emergence of a King of Demons enough to crush others, any such sign would prompt other devils to attack collectively, preventing anyone from breaking this fragile balance.
"If this method were possible, then during Fall of the Holy City, why did you and King Solomon suffer a total defeat?"
Belphegor murmured, he gathered himself from a playful mindset, turning serious and earnest.
Cooperating with the astronaut and seeing plans gradually realized made Belphegor somewhat complacent, entirely forgetting the potential chaos the astronaut nearly caused decades ago.
"You attempted to create a Crowned to break balance, defeat all Chosen Ones, making yourself the final winner, the last King of Demons... you’ve seen your end, scorched earth and ruin, so you wish to break the balance again now?"
"Crowned? King of Demons? Interesting..."
The astronaut didn’t directly answer Belphegor’s question, only casually smiled, as if Belphegor just told an amusing joke.
Belphegor emphasized, "The balance must be maintained."
"I understand."
The astronaut turned his head, the golden mirror reflecting Belphegor’s rapidly changing, myriad faces.
"We each bear different Original Sin, but what’s important is strength, not the will that governs power," Belphegor murmured, "You wouldn’t want to be replaced, would you?"
