Endless Debt

"whale?"

Irwin felt that he heard wrongly, but looking at the serious expression on the girl's face, she was not joking.

But... a whale?

From the chance encounter on the train platform, to the fight with the devil, to the crazy feast on the Paradise, the world of common sense gradually collapses, and disorderly chaos is eternal.

In order to step into such a world, everyone needs to have strong courage and will, as well as a reason that cannot be refused.

Irwin went into danger for immortality, but the girl in front of him did it just... just to see the whales.

"Oh my god..."

For a moment, Irwin felt that all the pain in his body disappeared, leaving only a kind of absurd joy. He leaned his head on the cabinet behind him, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe.

The dangerous and depressing atmosphere was gone, and Irwin felt like he was back in Daisy Castle, sitting in front of the fireplace with a friend and telling jokes.

"Are you serious?" Irwin doubted, "You're not lying to me again, are you?"

Cinderella's eyes were serious. This time she was not lying. In her life built of deceit and disguise, this was a rare truth.

"why?"

Irwin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "It's so weird to risk your own life for such a reason."

It felt so wonderful, like a group of desperadoes armed to the teeth who feared death, and suddenly there was a girl next door.

You are here for deep hatred, for that dirty and unspeakable desire, for the power and power filled with blood, but this girl is just here to see whales. This reason is as absurd as looking for a lost cat.

"Do you have the habit of reading newspapers?"

There were constant vibrations from the outside world, as if there were a group of monsters dancing above their heads. Cinderella's voice was very low, as if she was telling ghost stories under the quilt, for fear of attracting the attention of those monsters.

"some."

Irwin nodded. Life in Daisy Castle can be said to be isolated from the world. Newspapers and radios are Irwin's only ways to communicate with the outside world.

His body stretched out. Even though he was in such a dangerous situation, Irwin didn't panic. On the contrary, he enjoyed the moment of peace in this crisis environment.

Cinderella asked again, "Do you know that whale called Char?"

Irwin tried to recall, remembering that he had read reports about it in the newspaper before.

"It was a strange whale. It broke away from the whale group and wandered near Freeport despite the threat of whalers."

Cinderella told Char's story.

"One day, Char took advantage of the high tide and washed ashore. This was not a mistake, but a long-planned plan. It washed very far, almost crossing the beach and touching the dense forest...

People wanted to save it, water it, and try to drag it back into the sea, but it stubbornly moved forward. Its soft skin rubbed against the sand, and blood flowed into a river.

Char is dead.

The whale was not supposed to come to land. The whalers dismantled its carcass, and nothing was left of it in the world except the words in the newspaper. "

Cinderella's voice became lower and lower as she spoke, and finally fell silent.

Irwin said, "Because of Char, do you want to come see the whales?"

Cinderella nodded, "After learning about Char's story, there is always a whale in my mind that repeatedly hits the coast."

"I have read a lot of books about whales. The books say that whales actually have a certain amount of intelligence and they know what they are doing."

It is always not easy to tell your inner story. Cinderella took a deep breath. For her, she and Irwin had only known each other for a few days. Due to a series of unexpected events, they ended up like this.

Cinderella said innocently, "I started to wonder, what was Charl thinking at that time?"

"When it is stranded on the beach, when the sun gradually dries up the moisture in its body, when its huge body crushes its bones, when its internal organs burst into blood, when people walk around it, when it hunts whales When people cut open its body with a sharp knife...

What was Char thinking? "

Cinderella felt suffocated, and in a trance she felt like she had become Char, falling on the hot beach, feeling the pain of being stabbed all over her body.

"Char is intelligent. He knew that he would die if he did this, but he still did it."

Cinderella asked Irwin in confusion, "Is it committing suicide? Can it understand 'life' and 'death'?"

Cinderella is neither a whale nor a char, and all this is an unsolvable mystery to her.

Irwin murmured, "You became curious about Char, you wanted to know Char's story, you wanted to know what this whale was thinking, and then you came all the way to Freeport..."

"Hmm... I want to see whales with my own eyes and see Char's kind. Maybe in this way, I can understand the mystery in my heart."

"Then you've come to the wrong place, Cinderella," Irwin smiled. "Whales usually live in distant seas. Only idiots like Char will come to dangerous offshore waters. In Freeport, you can see The only ones left are whale carcasses brought back by whaling ships.”

"Is it stupid?" Cinderella's voice was very soft and she laughed self-deprecatingly. "This reason is indeed stupid, right? Irving."

"It's stupid," Irwin nodded in agreement, "but I don't hate it."

"Why?"

"People always advocate correct choices and give meaning to everything. It seems that choices or things that are incorrect and have no meaning are wrong and should not exist."

Irwin spoke softly, as if telling a joke that wasn't funny, "But has the world changed for the better? No, right? Look around us, hell, is this ship going to sink?"

Cinderella was stunned for a moment, a smile appeared on her lonely face, and she leaned back with a smile.

"Reality is cold and ruthless, full of right choices and important meanings. This is too tiring, so I like some meaningless stupid things. It sounds like a fairy tale written for adults, like a gray and decaying world, A stunning splash of color.”

Irwin raised his eyebrows and stood up reluctantly, holding on to the cupboard. His strength was almost restored, and it was time to continue their journey of survival.

Cinderella supported Irwin and after hearing what he said, she asked curiously, "Do you often do stupid things?"

"More than that," Irving said, "my life is just a collection of stupid things."

The two walked out of the room. They had not been attacked yet, but the vibrations around them became more and more intense, as if the monsters were slowly approaching.

Irwin smelled a smell of blood. He didn't know whether it was coming from a corpse behind a corner or his own.

"I think...I think Char is looking for something."

Irwin said suddenly, lowering his head and looking at Cinderella.

“Just like me, I’m looking for eternal life, and I won’t back down even when I’m treading dangerous ground.

The same is true for Char. It is looking for something, but it has searched all over the seven seas and still found nothing. In despair, it hopes to land on land. It may be behind the hot sand and gravel. For that thing, it would rather be stranded and die. "

Seek and... eternal life.

A gust of cold wind blew across Cinderella's cheek. She raised her head and looked at Irwin, wondering, "Eternal life? You said that was just a horror story."

She realized later and said, "Did you lie to me?"

Eternal life is not a horror story, but what Irwin really pursues, but...how can eternal life exist in this world?

Irwin did not answer Cinderella's question, but asked, "What do you think is true immortality?"

Cinderella was about to say something, but was interrupted by Irwin.

"Shh, think carefully, you only have one chance to make a wish."

Cinderella felt that the Irwin in front of her was strange. It was like this every time. Whenever immortality was mentioned, a sense of madness lingered around him... just like the people he killed on the train.

"Eternal life? An immortal body? An unshakable will?"

Irwin talked about one possibility after another. There was no envy or desire in his words, but contempt and disdain.

He murmured, "That's not true immortality."

Irwin suddenly broke away from Cinderella's support and knocked her to the side. Then Irwin accelerated forward, gripped the dagger, and stabbed towards the blind spot at the corner of the corridor.

The whimpering and the dripping of blood echoed in the dark corridor. Irwin struggled to lift the dagger, causing it to penetrate further into the demon's body, and even the tip of the sword pierced out from the back.

"Remember to watch the road, my friend."

Irwin drew out his dagger and blood spurted out. As early as when he was chatting with Cinderella, Irwin had keenly heard the approaching pace. The devil wanted to ambush Irwin at the corner, but he didn't know that Irwin was also waiting for him.

The demon's body fell straight down. Irwin's left hand seemed to be broken. He was in severe pain and temporarily lost his ability to move. But at least it could be used as a shield to block him.

Irwin raised his forearm to protect his chest and ducked out of the corner. At the same time, another demon stepped on the fallen body and collided hard with Irwin.

Irwin was only a mortal after all, not to mention that he was bruised, old and stiff, and the demon could easily knock him down.

The ceiling began to dent and was filled with cracks on the verge of collapse. Irwin saw the end of another corridor, where the elevator door was open, with flames burning inside, and many hideous figures riding cables deep into the Paradise.

This maritime fortress is crumbling bit by bit.

The demon overwhelmed Irvin with his strength advantage, and punched Irvin in the face one after another, beating him to a bloody pulp. Irwin repeatedly thrust out the dagger, stabbing the demon's abdomen into a bloody mess, but this guy didn't know As if in pain, he continued to beat Irwin, and even bit him on Irwin's shoulder.

Before the demon tore out Irwin's flesh, Irwin drove the dagger down the demon's throat and into his brain, ending his life completely.

Pushing away the corpse that was pressing on him, Irwin was truly at the end of his rope at this moment. More demons crawled out of the elevator and strode towards Irwin.

Irwin saw Cinderella in the blood-stained vision. He was glad that the demons' attention was on him. If Cinderella was smart enough, she should be able to escape.

Irwin stood up holding on to the wall, and he was glad that he had already predicted the outcome of this journey to eternal life.

Irwin had anticipated his own death. After all, what he longed for was the expensive eternal life, and it was difficult to repay such a gift at any price.

When leaving Daisy Castle, Irwin had prepared the manuscript for his new book. Unfortunately, it was only a rough first draft and Irwin had no chance to make it perfect, but Irwin felt that his editor would not mind it.

The demon swung his long knife and slashed Irwin's chest, causing blood to swell and his clothes torn.

Irwin heard the girl's scream and saw the notes flying out from under the coat. The pages were chopped into pieces by the blade, and the scattered pages were flying like heavy snow.

His body fell heavily into a pool of blood. Irwin was about to die, but when he was about to die, a piece of paper fell in front of him. The scrawled writing was soaked in blood and burned strangely, exuding a dazzling golden light. .

The text on this page describes a mysterious existence, which was the first stranger Irwin met when he just left Daisy Castle and began his journey to eternal life.

Irwin had never seen such a person before. He seemed to know all the works of art and philosophical history of the past and present. Chatting with him was simply a pleasure.

Irwin and many people have told stories about eternal life, and everyone's answers are surprisingly consistent and surprisingly wrong. But only he, his answer makes Irwin extremely satisfied, because that is what Irwin insists on, the real truth. The answer to eternal life.

"Irvin Fleischer."

A low, hoarse voice called to Irwin.

The sound pulled Irwin's silent heart, causing it to beat violently again like an engine.

"Irwin, you are exactly what I want, of great value, if you are willing..."

In my memory, at the end of the chat, the man said this and stretched out his hand to himself.

He put down his pen and stopped describing the man. It was obviously the first time he saw that man, and it was obvious that he simply said something of unknown meaning.

But what I know is that as long as I agree to the man, I can get the eternal life I have longed for...

No one told him why, but he knew secretly that as long as he held the man's hand and handed over his destiny to him, he would usher in eternal life.

"No……"

He shook his head, rejected the man's invitation, and said goodbye to that eternal time.

For a mortal, this is definitely a deal that is difficult to refuse, but he rejected it so easily. Looking back now, he feels incredible.

The man's hand froze in mid-air, and he laughed so hard that tears overflowed from his eyes, as if his rejection made him feel even more happy.

"so good……"

The man stood up, his figure covering the sky.

"Irwin, you didn't disappoint me." The man's voice was evil, like a ghost, echoing in his ears, "If you promised me, you would be worthless."

I vaguely guessed the man's identity.

"You share with me your vision of eternity, your life story, and then I will bless you."

When parting, the man stretched out his fingers and pressed on his chest. The burning pain spread in his chest, even carving a mark of the sun.

"May your trip be worthwhile."

The page was completely soaked with blood. At the end of the text, Irwin saw the man's name that he had recorded.

Irwin called softly.

"Belphegor."

In an instant, the power to reverse life and death burst out from Irwin's chest. The brand of the sun burned fiercely, completely healed, and returned to the body. His heart beat loudly, squeezing the only blood and giving it infinite power, instilling it into every inch of flesh and blood. inside.

Irwin felt that his body was about to burn under the scorching sun, all pain sensations were fading, the hideous wounds began to heal, and the broken bones were reset and recast.

The hazy hallucinations disappeared, leaving only absolute clarity.

Someone was standing behind Irwin, and Irwin knew it was the man named Belphegor, who was watching him in the darkness.

Then turned and left.

Irwin murmured, "We're settled."

The demons looked at Irwin who stood up again, wondering how this ordinary man still had the strength to move. Some demons wiped the saliva from the corners of their mouths and stared greedily at Irwin's flesh and blood, while others picked it up curiously. The pages of the book, trying to see what was written on them.

There was also a demon who picked up the ticket sandwiched between the pages. The two tickets were stuck together, one was old and the other was brand new.

Just as the devil was trying to observe the two tickets carefully, a deafening roar rang out.

Cinderella had never seen Irvin like this before, and it was as if she had gotten to know him again. No matter what kind of crisis he encountered before, Irvin could always remain rational and calm, just like a decent gentleman, even if the angry waves were approaching. , and never lose etiquette.

But now Irwin's eyes were red, like a savage beast, and unimaginable power erupted from his old body. He stepped on the blood and paper, and his deadly dagger accurately and continuously cut the throats of the demons.

A bloody rainstorm blew in the narrow corridor, and before the devil had time to react, a rough punch smashed his face.

"Give it back to me!"

The dagger was like an ice pick, easily piercing the demon's forehead and piercing his brain. Then with another heavy punch, Irwin broke the demon's neck.

Before the body fell, Irwin took the ticket back from the devil's hands. When it returned to Irwin's hands, Irwin suddenly lost his rage and wildness.

Irwin returned to his familiar appearance and stumbled against the wall. His muscles were sore and exhausted. He looked at the tickets affectionately, carefully wiped the blood on them, and put them back into his pocket. He felt at ease.

Blood flowed over Cinderella's feet, and her eyes were filled with confusion.

Irwin relied on his violent impulse to kill all the demons in the corridor. The corpses were piled up, exuding a disgusting smell.

Cinderella said to herself, "The author is a perfect liar."

Irwin didn't speak, just showed the same smile as before. He staggered towards Cinderella, with countless bloodshot eyes hanging on his body.

Cinderella did not back down. While she was deceiving Irwin, Irwin was also deceiving her. This guy whose pen name was Blue Jay was definitely not as simple as he showed.

But Cinderella felt that Irwin would tell her that secret next, and she was looking forward to it.

The intertwining of blood and fire peeled off the hard shell of the two people's secrets until they were exposed to the sun.

Irwin clutched his chest. The devil's power healed his injuries, but it could not change his mortal nature. He was so tired that he almost collapsed.

The girl in his eyes began to blur, and several double images were superimposed on her. In a daze, Irwin seemed to see the figure that haunted him again.

Irwin reached out his hand in supplication.

Warm light shone on Irwin's body, and then billowing fireworks poured out from the elevator entrance and engulfed Irwin. The roaring heat wave enveloped the corpses of the demons, rushing through the intersecting corridors like a gaseous tide.

Cinderella flew to catch Irwin, but the howling heat wave also hit her body, like a hurricane, sweeping away all obstacles, leaving only the scorched silence.

Too lazy to dismantle, 2-in-1.