"Only... what a pity."
Antonio's murmur brought Reilo back to his senses. He looked at Antonio, whose expression had turned faintly sorrowful after a whirlwind of emotions.
Antonio was looking down at his hand, which had crystallized into black ice.
"Master, is this the Shadow Wall Demon's curse?"
Antonio didn't answer Reilo's question.
As he controlled his Profound Meaning True Body to battle the Demon God, Antonio said in a low voice, "Life is like a circle, and knowledge is like its circumference. Outside the circle lies the unknown. I once thought this world was simple, and scholars were simple too. I thought everything unfolded just as I saw it, step by step. But as my knowledge grew, the circle's circumference grew longer, and I came into contact with more and more of the unknown. I realized... that I was becoming smaller and more ignorant. This sense of helplessness has tormented me deeply, and tormented our entire generation."
He looked at Reilo.
"Then you appeared out of nowhere, almost as if you'd materialized from thin air. You seemed like some kind of advanced civilization's creature wearing human skin, or even an alien from another world—something strange and terrifying that I couldn't understand. At one point, my heart even denied that you existed. It wasn't until Xixi Li, the Bio-Exterminator of the Xilan Duchy, appeared that I had no choice but to accept the truth."
He shook his head slightly, mocking his own former ignorance.
"Leaving aside the world beyond, even within the Starveil Land, I've encountered many wondrous and magnificent life forms across its vast regions beyond the Central Orora Empire. One of the closest to us, and one of the most dangerous, is actually right beside us: the long canyon that serves as the border between Gran and Xilan—the