A few minutes later, the Great Hollow beneath Enzouzan.
Samael stood before the altar, his fingertips brushing the inscriptions still shimmering faintly and the lingering warmth on their surface. He turned to survey the empty Great Hollow, his face darkening.
"We were a step too late."
"What exactly happened, Samael?"
Alicephil, who had been dragged all the way here, had no idea what was going on. She looked at her husband, who seemed unusually agitated today, in confusion.
The ancient serpent raised a hand to massage his aching temples and snorted with a frown.
"We were fooled! That woman never died!"
"How could that be...?"
Alicephil found it hard to believe, but the Winter Saintess, blessed with exceptional insight, soon found the key after a moment's thought.
"Human Evil is human love itself?"
"That's right!"
Samael took a deep breath and calmed himself slightly. His gaze deepened as he spoke leisurely.
"Beasts are born from Human Evil. They are great disasters that threaten human history, yet so-called Human Evil is human love itself. Their desire to destroy humanity is not based on hatred for humanity, either. Hatred is only temporary; the more it is used, the thinner it becomes. Therefore, what truly threatens humanity is precisely the wish to protect human history. The desire for a better future bares its fangs at the peace of the present."
"So they are more like trials that coexist with humanity? Opposed to humanity, yet inseparable from it? If human history wishes to advance, it cannot stop here. And once humanity overcomes the threats brought by the Beasts, humanity itself takes another step forward?"
As the other half of the one who possessed every talent and an exceptional creation of Einzbern, Alicephil clearly possessed extraordinary comprehension. In only a few words, she had struck