Things Had Finally Stabilized, for Now (cont.)

For her, this was something that was neither important nor unnecessary.

But Sui was clearly not one of these people.

In fact, although she had spent significantly more time in Yan compared to Maria, the girl still didn't know much about Yan culture.

She only sought out Maria for drinks because she had nothing else to do.

"Hey ya~"

In the mountains and forests, Sui let out a long breath, and a rosy glow appeared on his face.

Maria was right beside the girl, walking with her through the mountains and fields.

The pitch-black environment posed no problem for the two of them; they simply wandered aimlessly through the mountains and fields.

"To be honest, I really didn't expect those little people to learn so quickly. It felt like in the blink of an eye, they already knew everything I knew."

Sui smiled and said, "Ten years is nothing but a blink of an eye in my eyes."

Maria, however, simply turned her head to look at the other person.

Seeing the girl's pure and innocent expression, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She spoke abruptly.

What are you planning to do?

"Um?"

"Regarding the war on the human side... I don't know the outcome, but even if they fail this time, they've proven that defeating the Great Beast isn't impossible. At most, in another ten or twenty years, they'll organize another attack against the Great Beast..."

Maria paused here, then slowly continued, "The Great Beast will eventually be defeated..."

"Isn't that great...?"

He was all smiles.

She didn't seem to care much about the situation.

In fact, she quite hoped to see such a scene occur.

She couldn't wait to see the bewildered and dumbfounded expressions on the faces of those other Great Beast as they were utterly routed by human technological weapons!

"..."

Maria turned her head and looked at Sui.

After a long silence, she finally sighed helplessly.

"You should understand what I mean, age."

"... Um?"

The boy looked at Maria with some confusion.

A hint of confusion appeared on her rosy cheeks.

But a moment later, she smiled and took Maria's hand...

"Um?"

"I heard that in Yan, people who are close to each other hold hands when they go out together... saying that this way they won't get lost or separated."

Her smile, though still innocent and pure, remained unchanged at that age, and she continued walking while Maria hesitated.

After wandering aimlessly for a while, she slowly began to speak.

"I know what you mean... you think those people will come after me later, right?"

"... Their strength is growing rapidly. The only reason they haven't made a move yet is because they believe you are currently on their side."

Maria began, calmly stating the chilling truth.

The only reason Yan hasn't taken action against Sui yet is because they believe Sui, at least for now, belongs to them, and they can postpone their actions...

As for whether the other party would actually make a move... Maria never doubted that.

Even though the Sui Dynasty advanced their technology and combat capabilities to levels that might have taken them hundreds of years to reach, and even though the Sui Dynasty brought about their current achievements, these people still do not regard the Sui Dynasty as their compatriots.

Great Beast is Great Beast, and a human is a human...

The emperor of the Great Yan understood this very clearly...

The weapons research that she encouraged these people to pursue, in a sense, was also teaching humanity how to create Blades that could kill her.

Maria did not want to accuse the other party of being treacherous.

In fact, everyone knows perfectly well that the Great Yan does not allow Great Beast to exist alone.

Great Yan over the years is evident to all. If Sui were willing to surrender, be recruited, and voluntarily put on the shackles given to him by humans, things might develop in other directions.

But Maria knew that Sui wouldn't accept herself like that, and she also knew that the current Emperor of Great Yan wouldn't allow Great Beast that he couldn't control and that could roam freely within Great Yan —even if that Great Beast didn't have any obvious direct malice towards humans...

The war between humans and the giants came after the war between humans and other Great Beast!

It's just a matter of time.

So Maria asked the girl what she planned to do next.

"So what do you think I should do?"

With a smile, Sui held Maria's hand and asked her friend a question.

Do you want me to leave here?

"..."

Maria did not speak, but her silence provided the answer.

Surprisingly, Sui laughed after hearing the answer.

"I'm not leaving!"

"Why?"

"Because that was my original purpose."

Sui smiled and looked at Maria.

"Didn't I already say that from the beginning?"

"I'm teaching them because I'm hoping they can surpass me and defeat me."

"If they can actually defeat me, that would actually make me happy... because I've been waiting for this moment."

He let out a breath and raised his eyes.

Golden-red flames burned fiercely in her pupils, emanating terrifying, illusory shockwaves.

She was breathing.

The illusory figure slowly moved along with her movements.

"When they attack me, I will kill them all without leaving a single one alive..."

"This was planned from the very beginning!"

The boy looked at Maria beside him and spoke with a smile.

She remained confident in herself.

"Besides, you have so little faith in me? Although these little devils have indeed improved a lot, they are far from enough to defeat me."

"..."

Maria didn't reply; she simply looked at the girl in front of her and blinked.

In the long silence, she said nothing.

And Sui didn't need Maria to reply; she was simply recounting what she had seen over the past ten years.

"I didn't understand why you thought these villains would defeat us before... but over the years, I've come to understand some of it."

The little girl, with her bound feet, walked and talked.

"It's not because of their learning speed, nor their growth, but because of the ideas in their minds that I don't quite understand."

"It seems like they never stop. Every time their research reaches a certain point, and one person can't keep going, a whole bunch of people suddenly appear from some corner I didn't even notice and take their place."

Even when they are tired, exhausted, or on their last legs, they will still leave behind everything they have to let those who come after them know what they have done.

"They were all very weak, and I can't remember all their names or faces, but every time I was about to overlook a place, they would reappear and come back into my sight..."

"They call this practice 'tradition'... I don't quite understand it, but I know it's something powerful."

"It allows every little person to become someone who moves forward, without having to start from scratch..."

As he spoke, he pointed again.

Flames suddenly erupted from the ground, but surprisingly, they did not burn anything.

It remained there, blocking the path behind them.

And in that deep, dark mountain forest, several figures could be seen appearing and disappearing.

Seeing this, the boy simply smiled, then took Maria's hand and continued forward.

"Just like I said, my initial purpose in helping these people was so that one day they could surpass me and defeat me..."

"But what about you, Maria? What are you planning to do?"

The little girl tilted her head and looked at Maria beside her.

Although, in comparison, Maria seemed to be more integrated into human society.

But this is just a comparison between two terrible chess players.

In reality, none of them have truly integrated into this world.

To others, Maria was also Great Beast and a threat.

She will go to war with humans after she turns 18... This is something she has long been prepared for.

But... what about Maria?

What does she plan to do?

"..."

Maria fell silent.

But Sui burst out laughing.

"And you're talking to me? You haven't thought it through yourself either!"

"... Perhaps."

Maria also let out a sigh of relief.

Over the years, the Doll also made contact with Maria.

After realizing that Maria's current era lacked what they needed, she asked Maria whether they should adjust time forward or end everything and return to the future.

But Maria refused.

She wanted to see where those lives, a blend of the powers of Great Beast, Originium, and humanity, would end up in this era.

Even now, Maria has to admit that the Great Yan has indeed exceeded her expectations.

Among those who seized the power of the Great Beast and Originium, there were indeed some who went out of control.

But each time, the Great Yan was able to annihilate them with swift and decisive action, then continue its research and move forward.

This shattered Maria's long-held belief in the study of Great Beast.

Maria couldn't figure out if there was some difference between Great Beast and Great Ones that she didn't understand, or if the humans in this world simply had a natural talent for adapting to the power of Great Beast.

Just like how she still can't quite understand why there are no normal people in this world besides that Rhodes Island Doctor.

The people of this world proved to her through their actions that sometimes what she knew was not the Istina.

She's human too, and she makes mistakes sometimes.

However, it's not entirely wrong...

At least until now, Maria can be certain that those specially trained warriors are also at risk of going out of control at any time.

The only difference was that the power called Originium and the samples provided by Sui helped these people stabilize their minds.