Since Adelle's death, Bologue felt increasingly irritable, and over time, this irritability grew more intense, fiery, and unbearable.
This feeling is akin to bulimia nervosa, but Bologue knew that this irritability came from his own heart.
Every time he obtained new information and punished those damned villains, Bologue felt a sense of irritability being released, granting him brief tranquility. Yet, no matter how many villains he killed, the irritability was merely alleviated, not truly eradicated.
Only by ending it all could Bologue achieve liberation. He relentlessly searched for Adelle's soul.
Adelle was different from Bologue; she was murdered, forcefully "condensed," and despite Bologue's persistent investigations, he never found Adelle's soul, which is what they call the "Philosopher's Stone."
The name given to a human soul "condensed" into a tangible entity, a crystalline, translucent red gem.
Souls are the bargaining chips in trades with Devils, and likewise, such currency is popular among humans.
The rarity of Philosopher's Stones isn't only due to their value as expensive alchemy materials, more importantly, demons can consume them to alleviate empty hunger and soothe bulimia nervosa outbreaks.
A part of Opus's gray business deals with these entities, using living people to condense Philosopher's Stones and selling them at high prices to demons to mitigate bulimia nervosa symptoms, allowing them to maintain human form.
The list Bologue found was a record of Philosopher's Stone sales, and through it, he killed each demon listed.
"Condensation" cannot completely bind a human soul, only a Devil's "blood contract" can fully dominate a person's soul, meaning Adelle's soul will eventually "fade away," returning to freedom, the only remaining question being, how much time will it take to fully evaporate and "fade away."
However, after working with Geoffrey for so long, Bologue learned some secretive knowledge; for instance, Alchemists have many means to prolong the existence of Philosopher's Stones, slowing down the evaporation rate.
Adelle's death is certain, what Bologue wants now, is to find her Philosopher's Stone as soon as possible to grant her soul freedom.
Each day, each second delayed makes Bologue exceedingly anxious, causing him to become irritable, cruel, and insane.
Geoffrey often said Bologue had some mental issues, always succeeding in hunting demons but in a terribly messy manner. He recalls the two of them joking about similar things before.
"You're like an outstanding doctor."
Geoffrey praised.
"But unfortunately, a forensic one."
It sounded bizarre.
But when did he become like this? Always able to get things done but always creating chaos.
When he came to this world? When he signed his name under the Devil's blood contract? Or when he walked out of the Black Prison?
Or perhaps... when Adelle died?
Bologue couldn't be bothered to think, nor did he have time to ponder.
A silhouette swiftly passed by, stirring a gentle breeze, lifting the ads posted on the wall, rustling noisily.
Bologue sprinted all the way, the obnoxious scent grew more intense, almost suffocating.
His thinking was simple now; Bologue didn't care who these demons were, where they came from, or where they were going, he had only one thought.
Kill them all, leave none alive.
A hoarse growl came from the corner ahead, Bologue could smell the scent of demons, and demons could also smell the scent of souls. Though incomplete, it was worth their frenzy.
Dashing out of the corner, as anticipated, a sharp shriek sounded, clashing with a folding knife, sparking bright blazes.
Their silhouettes pressed close together, struggling against each other.
The opponent's strength was great; Bologue's steps were unstable, almost knocked down, crashing into the wall, then turning away. The spot on the wall was soon struck by a sharp scythe, leaving a long narrow dent.
"Friend, you look starved."
Bologue retreated, the opponent fully exposed in view, under the flickering dim lights, hideously so.
It was a demon that had already shed human form; distorted in its "emptiness," the opponent resembled a gigantic arthropod.
Its head twisted into an unrecognizable shape, jaws opened to almost a contorted angle, revealing sharp, dense, shark-like teeth, with dark red blood stains lingering between them.
Its arms completely deformed, forearms morphed into praying mantis-like scythe-shaped blades. If not for the folding knife blocking the attack just now, Bologue might have been cut in half.
The demon's body bowed, ready to strike like a beast, whipping up the howling wind.
No evasion, charging like cavalry, Bologue pressed on relentlessly.
The blade flashed by, sparks flying, amid continuous clashes, the hand wielding the knife numb from shock, his attack suppressed. The opponent's power and speed were far superior, forcing Bologue to gasp under the crisscrossing scythe swings.
Thankfully, the narrow corridor limited the demon's swings, otherwise, Bologue would face pressure far greater than now.
After another heavy blow, Bologue's body retreated, his folding knife shattered completely from strain, fragments scattered and scraped Bologue while puncturing the demon's skin.
Throwing the broken knife, unsurprisingly, it was easily slashed away by the demon. But as it slashed, another blinding white light swept past, with a large smear of blood.