Endless Debt

Rhine calendar year 1243, Order Bureau.

The sound of dry friction of metal was faintly heard, and the simple elevator slowly descended in the dark and deep vertical shaft, as if it was exploring an ancient tomb, and the air was filled with dust.

The man leaned in a dark corner and coughed hard several times. He always felt that he might get some respiratory disease if he stayed here for too long.

But even though he thought so, he still held a cigarette in his mouth, and the light from the ignited fire slightly illuminated his resolute face. He took a big puff, and the diffuse smoke and dust were mixed together.

There were several cigarette butts scattered on the ground. This was not the first cigarette the man had smoked. He didn't know whether the elevator was too old, causing its operation efficiency to be extremely slow, or whether the place he was going to was at the bottom of an abyss.

The man felt that he had been here for several hours, but the descent had not stopped.

The interior of the Order Bureau is very modern, and some styles can be said to be avant-garde. However, even in such a place, some areas still maintain the ancient style of hundreds of years ago, with the old and the new alternating together.

The stone walls were covered with damp moss, the candlesticks were covered with dust, the lift was stained with rust, and the wooden planks under his feet were crumbling. The man felt that if he exerted just a little force, he might break through the ground and fall into the darkness.

Fortunately, these old areas are inaccessible to ordinary employees. Only a few people in the entire Order Bureau can enter them. The man happens to be one of them, and he is also the most powerful one.

After smoking another cigarette, the man felt a little anxious. He touched his pocket, only to find that the cigarette just now was the last one in the pack.

"Ah...damn it."

The man complained, then remembered what the woman had said to him.

"It's time for you to quit smoking."

"What's wrong? Sublime people don't get lung cancer, let alone people of my level." The man raised his eyebrows in response.

"I just don't like the smell of smoke."

As the woman said this, she walked over and pinched off her cigarette. She might have wanted to kiss herself, but she pinched her nose and frowned.

"It stinks."

Thinking of this, the man laughed to himself. He crumpled the cigarette case into a ball and threw it casually into the darkness.

Suddenly the elevator shook violently, and the man looked shocked. He thought that no matter how old and shabby the place was, it would not stop because of his littering.

But soon the vibration stopped, the iron gate opened, a dim light lit up from the front, and a man in gray was waiting for him holding a candlestick.

It wasn't that there was something wrong with the lift, it was that the man had finally reached his destination.

"Huh, it's hard to come to this damn place every time."

The man walked out of the elevator and stretched his body to his heart's content. Only then did he notice that he was so tall that he looked like a strong bull.

"Deputy Director Nethanil."

The man in gray nodded to Nethaniel. He was not addressing the director of the field department, but the deputy director of the Order Bureau.

"Good morning, Warden, you look good."

Nathaniel patted the man in gray on the back, looked at the unknown darkness under the robe, and said nonsense.

Darkness and gray clothes covered the whole body of the warden, but this did not prevent him from expressing displeasure, but dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction. The warden knew very well that this man did not care about his own thoughts at all. He had always had his own way.

The warden hated physical contact, but every time the old boy came, he would pat himself and get angry and reprimand him. He would say, "You have been in the dark for too long. You need to Some life, my friend.”

Nathaniel feels that he is full of vitality. This is undeniable. There are few people like him who are still as young as a young man at this age.

"Lead the way. I feel like no matter how many times I come here, I can't remember the way. It's too dark here...won't you consider installing more lights?"

Nathaniel rambled on, but the warden simply ignored his words.

There is not only darkness lingering around, but also some kind of fog that swallows light. No light source can survive here forever. Only the candlestick in the hand of the warden can slightly illuminate the surroundings, but it is only the surrounding area.

After leaving the elevator, the warden took Nathaniel onto a narrow road. It was built along a steep cliff. With the sight blocked, it was impossible to judge his position, let alone the hidden narrow roads. road.

Except for the line of sight, this place was still in a state of ether vacuum. Nethaniel tried to release some ether, and soon these floating ethers were eaten away by things from the darkness. They not only swallowed the light, but also bitten the ether.

These actions could not be hidden from the warden, but he didn't say anything more and just acted as the deputy director to inspect the security capabilities of the black cell.

"Talk to me, Warden."

It was so quiet here that Nathaniel could vaguely hear the sound of his heart squeezing blood. He needed to say something to break the damn silence.

"What to talk about?"

"Let's talk about him," Nathaniel said. "I'm really curious to be so expected by the director."

The warden was silent for a while, and a hoarse voice came out, as if a mummy was speaking.

"That was sixty-six years ago. He was discovered on the battlefield by Albert Alfredo," the warden recalled the original scene. "It was difficult not to discover him at that time. King Solomon's glory The fire burned everyone into towering pillars of salt, and in the hell of floating brimstone and fireworks, he was the only living person struggling in pain."

"After that, Albert Alfredo became the first director of the Bureau of Order, and he also became the first prisoner of the black cell."

Speaking of this, the warden hesitated for a moment, and then added.

"Actually, it's not accurate to call him a prisoner. You also know the nature of Guangzhuo. Rather than imprisoning him, we would rather isolate him to prevent the power of Guangzhuo from spreading.

Apart from the power of resurrection from the dead, he was just an ordinary person, unable to withstand the burning of the light. When his body was destroyed into a pillar of salt, he began to resurrect, and so on.

Guangzhuo was like a curse, equal to his resurrection. He struggled in pain and death for several years before he completely defeated Guangshuo and completely cut off this terrible power. "

The warden's voice was emotionless.

"After the light disappeared, he died too many times and slept for several more years before waking up. More than ten years have passed since he was imprisoned in a dark prison."

"How did he react after he woke up?" Nathaniel asked curiously.

"Depression, guilt, severe self-destructive tendencies. I thought it was the torture caused by light burning that broke his spirit, but during a conversation, I learned that what really tortured him was another thing."

The warden stopped talking and motioned for Nathaniel to follow him. The two left the steep narrow path and came to a huge cliff.

The torch rising in the darkness illuminated the things in front of me. The metal gate was covered with reliefs of ghosts and gods. They were all ferocious, trying to break through the door. The firelight swayed slightly, and the light and shadow on the reliefs also changed. For a moment they seemed to come alive.

Nathaniel could already imagine that scene. The ghosts and gods were wailing in the red-hot molten iron. They wanted to crawl out of here, but were driven back by sharp spears. Finally, they solidified into a ferocious appearance, and the gold sealed the cracks in the door. , with many holy words engraved on it, vowing to put an end to these evils in the world forever.

The warden slowly raised his hand, the rocks shook, the earth shook, and the sealed gold took on a strange liquid feel. The giant door that was as high as the cliff slowly opened a gap, and he and Nathaniel stepped inside.

Behind the door is a deep well, a huge, deep, spiraling downward well. The spiral narrow passage is filled with quietly burning candles. Corresponding to the candles, there are a series of candles located on the well wall. The prison door cast by molten iron shines continuously to the end of the darkness.

The imprisoned evil spirits seemed to smell the breath of living people, and the deep well suddenly became agitated. The roars of wild beasts, the wails of ghosts, the cries of women... everything constituted the elegy of hell.

"He felt that he had caused so many people to die, but I asked him why he felt that way, and he couldn't tell me." The warden walked down the spiral passage, "It's like the pen that he forgot He couldn't explain why he felt this way, he just repeatedly said that he should be responsible for this tragedy."

The cell door beside him shook violently. Nathaniel turned his head, his eyes burning with golden flames. After just one glance, the cell door stopped shaking and became completely silent.

"But we all know that it was King Solomon who launched the Light Burn, burning brimstone and fire all over the battlefield, turning everyone into pillars of salt, including himself... This tragedy had nothing to do with him." The fire in Nathaniel's eyes Extinguished, whispering softly.

"You don't need to take action, they can't escape." The warden let out a hoarse laugh.

"I just feel a little irritable and want to find a punching bag," Nathaniel shrugged, then asked, "What else?"

"He believed that he was related to this tragedy. Although he couldn't explain these things clearly, but probably out of guilt, he cooperated very well with us, whether it was extreme testing or interrogation."

The warden continued.

"We suspect that this may be related to the content of his deal. For example, a certain way in which the deal was concluded made him mistakenly believe that he was related to this tragedy. Think about it, everyone died and turned into gray pillars of salt standing in the scarlet sky. On the battlefield, you will be left alone in the end... He doesn't know King Solomon or the existence of Guangzhuo. He may think that all this is caused by himself."

No one explained these things to him at the time, and that information was taboo for Ninghua practitioners, let alone debtors.

Nathaniel was silent, and after a long while, he spoke slowly.

"What if he is really involved in this tragedy?"

The warden's steps stopped, Nathaniel could feel the gaze cast from under the gray clothes, and the hoarse voice sounded again.

"Do you think this is possible? Deputy Director Nathaniel."

The voice of the man in gray was solemn as never before, and even a little bit fearful.

"You and I both know why the Holy City fell, but everyone keeps silent about it."

"Yeah, if there hadn't been the fall of the Holy City, I'm afraid we wouldn't have faced the threat of the devil in a few hundred years." Nathaniel laughed at himself.

"So the investigation on him is over?"

"Well, that's the end of it. He was very cooperative, and apart from the identity of his debtor, nothing useful could be found. Then he was forgotten."

The warden recalled every bit of the past.

"I have been observing him. In the years since then, this guy has been immersed in sorrow and still thinks that he is the culprit of the tragedy. He wants to die, but he can't die, even if he is starved to death. But after death, he will come back to life vigorously.

Suddenly one day this guy came out of his self-destruction. He was sitting in the corner, looking thoughtful. "

The warden still remembered that moment. It must have been the first time in so many years that the warden had spoken to him. He had not spoken for so many years, so he stuttered when he spoke.

"I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he was reminiscing. With memories, he could endure loneliness. After many years, he still maintained his sanity, exercising in the narrow cell every day and reminiscing about life."

"That sounds really interesting."

"Yes, I have seen many people walking toward destruction in the darkness, but this is the first time I have seen a person climb out of the abyss on his own without any external help," the warden affirmed, "He I have always maintained a regular life, even if the activity space is only such a small area."

"I asked him that all this is meaningless and he can't leave here. He replied that he is an immortal. Mountains and rivers will collapse and kingdoms will be destroyed. Even a huge organization like ours will one day fall apart. But he is immortal. As long as he continues to wait, one day he will step on our ruins and regain his freedom."

"Unexpectedly philosophical, what is he going to do after he goes out?" Nathaniel asked, "Become a psychiatrist?"

"I don't know, but I think it's about investigating matters related to him, investigating the truth about the fall of the Holy City, and looking for the content of his deal with the devil. He thinks that his hands are stained with the blood of those people, and he needs to give it to him no matter what. Give yourself an answer, regardless of whether the answer is what he wants."

The warden has been observing him for so many years. Compared with other prisoners, he is so special and strange.

The two stopped, and unknowingly they had reached the bottom of the deep well. A cell door stood lonely here, which held the first prisoner since the establishment of the black cell.

"Actually, we have another purpose for detaining him for so long." The warden suddenly said.

"He is a debtor, the devil's agent. He has a powerful immortal body. Unfortunately, he is just an ordinary person and does not have any power. We imprisoned him, which is equivalent to restricting the devil's actions." Sanil said, knowing what the warden meant.

"We have always regarded this place as a trap. If the devil wants to use this agent, we must find a way to rescue him. But for so many years, nothing has happened. Even during the Secret War, there was no abnormality here... It seems even the devil has forgotten him."

The warden shook his head regretfully and then said.

"But now, we actually want to take the initiative to release him."

For a moment, both of them were silent, a strange coldness surged in their bones, and their eyes met at the same time, until Nathaniel's awkward laughter broke the dead silence.

He stopped laughing after a few seconds, and a little sadness appeared on his face.

"Perhaps the devil has finally come to this day? He doesn't need to be rescued, we will let him out ourselves."

"It's like an inescapable fate... It sounds really scary." The warden said and stretched out his hand to touch the sealed cell door. The touch was cold, like stroking ice.

"If we are really in the devil's plan now, why now? It's neither sooner nor later, but this is the time to let him return to the world."

Nathaniel couldn't understand it and was too lazy to figure it out. He believed in his friend and believed that as the director of the Bureau of Order, he would not make the wrong decision.

Seeing the darkness under the gray robe, a blazing white light suddenly burst out, and the blazing ether was released along the fingertips, even burning the cold gray metal of the cell door into a glowing red.

The gold sealing the gap in the cell door began to melt, and large chunks fell down. Even the reliefs of ghosts and gods on the cell door came to life. As the metal flowed and twisted, they screamed with bloody mouths and sharp claws and tail blades.

The deep well suddenly became restless again. The monsters were banging against the cell door, and evil voices gathered together, talking and roaring.

"He's going to be released."

"The guys from the Bureau of Order finally went crazy."

"A bigger villain, a bigger monster!"

Amidst the endless murmurs and shouts, Nethanil spoke with bright golden eyes.

"Quiet!"

The mighty power of glory spread out, setting off a storm in the deep well, and the sticky darkness also retreated. However, the demons did not stop, but laughed even louder, laughing at Nathaniel's folly.

But when the golden seal melted, the ghosts and gods died one after another, and the cold iron prison door opened, the demons became quiet for a moment, not even whispering, for fear of disturbing the things deep down the well.

The world is quiet, and in the silence, the crazy and noisy thoughts grow wildly.

Nathaniel looked nervously at the darkness inside the cell door. He was ready. If a monster rushed out of it, he would kill the monster and cast its body into steel, even if it could die. And the resurrection will be frozen at the bottom of this deep well forever.

A bright light trail loomed on Nethanil's body. He walked in, but found no monster, only a man standing on his head with one hand in the center of the cell.

The man's body was covered with sweat. It seemed that he had been in an inverted posture for a while. His body was as motionless as a stone sculpture. After years of training, he had completely controlled every muscle in his body.

He turned gracefully, his feet touched the ground silently, and then stood up straight. His green eyes looked at Nathaniel. This was the first person he had seen in so many years.

For some reason, Nathaniel was a little embarrassed by his gaze, and then he realized what he felt strange about.

In this cage of darkness and despair, the man spent a long time alone. Not only did he stand up from the destruction, he also maintained his sanity and planned for an extremely distant future. He was not a monster, but he was better than a monster.

"Bologo Lazarus."

Nathaniel read out the man's name and looked into those cold blue eyes. He felt that he had spoken an unknown curse.

"you're free."