["How… is this possible?"] Roman stared at the words displayed on the screen in disbelief. He could understand each word individually, but when combined, they formed information that was both incomprehensible and unacceptable.
Roman, with his vast knowledge, naturally understood what a Beast was.
A catastrophe born from humanity's beastly nature, an evil destroyed by humanity itself.
The Beast is, paradoxically, the love of humanity.
But how could Alaric possibly be an Evil of Humanity?
Roman couldn't figure it out and couldn't accept it, but he quickly adjusted his emotions and hastily checked whether the information was incorrect.
At this moment, Roman would rather believe that the analysis was wrong than that this was true.
However, reality would not move in the direction Roman hoped for.
The blank period had already passed, and the information Roman could now see had become fixed, though a few more words had appeared.
[Evil of Humanity/Beast] [Embryo]
A being yet to be formed, one not yet born, an anticipated dragon awaiting its descent into the world.
A yearning for the beauty and desire of life drove someone who should have perished to keep moving forward, even to the point of being reborn.
Slap!
Roman slapped his forehead with his palm and fell backward powerlessly until he leaned against the backrest, letting out a helpless groan.
["What is this…?"]
What kind of situation is this? This is utterly absurd.
Da Vinci, who was standing nearby, also fell silent. She would never have imagined that the person she once had heartfelt conversations with under the night sky would become an Evil of Humanity.
Even if it was just an embryo—a primordial chaotic state that could not even be considered a juvenile form—Alaric undoubtedly had the qualifications and potential to become a true Beast.
Within just a few seconds, Roman, having gathered his composure again, decided to inform Merlin, Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash Kyrielight, and the others of this news.
No matter how great the difficulty, there is always a way to overcome it.
Besides, isn't Alaric just an embryo right now? Perhaps the day of its birth will never come.
After learning about Alaric's potential to become an Evil of Humanity and its current state, Ritsuka and Mash also displayed confusion.
For them, the concept of a Beast was still too vague, even being their first encounter with it.
However, before Roman or Merlin could explain, the heavenly flower blooming within the black cedar forest vanished.
What followed was a snow-white, rolling shockwave, surging like a raging tide across the northern wilderness, sweeping up countless magical beasts and instantly engulfing Nippur!
In its clash with the Chain of Heaven, the pitch-black flower was forced to fragment and expand, growing from an initial diameter of over a thousand meters to a full three kilometers wide.
This was only the direct reach of the heavenly flower; its residual shockwaves were enough to affect Nippur within the northern wilderness!
"Senpai, watch out!"
Reacting quickly, Mash raised her round table shield to block in front of Ritsuka, deploying a small-scale release of the pure white wall to shield against the entire shockwave.
Ritsuka, unmoving, gazed at the falling star descending rapidly from the heavens and the earth's response—
The Chain of Heaven—Enkidu.
In the unreachable heights of the sky, where Ritsuka could not intervene, black and gold clashed once again.
...
"Kingu, who would've thought you'd protect Gorgon!"
Clang!
The sound of heavy metal clashing reverberated, stirring the surrounding air and creating a gale centered around the two combatants!
Alaric gripped the Holy Lance tightly with one hand, continuously channeling mana into his body to fuel his movements, allowing him to match the nearly full-powered Kingu in performance!
At this moment, Alaric was utterly exhilarated and joyful. Even while clashing with Kingu, he still found time to glance downward at the ground.
The Blood Temple, which should have been destroyed under the heavenly flower, still stood tall upon the earth, though parts of it had been damaged, revealing pathways leading into its depths. Surrounding the Blood Temple, the black cedar forest extending for thousands of meters—
Had all evaporated!
The earth groaned, and molten lava flowed slowly like blood within the tens-of-meters-deep, thousands-of-meters-wide crater. The rebounding atmosphere, heated by the residual energy, turned into rolling waves of heat.
All of this was caused by Kingu and Alaric.
Alaric's original plan was to destroy and evaporate the Blood Temple along with the earth itself, but Kingu's interference resulted in the Blood Temple's survival.
However, it was also because of Kingu that the original thousand-meter dead zone expanded to several thousand meters.
This dead black cedar forest would be unable to sustain life until Gaia could mobilize enough resources to restore it to its original state.
But this process would take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to accomplish.
With just one strike, an indelible scar had been left on the land of Mesopotamia, symbolizing the existence of Alaric and Kingu.
What excited Alaric the most was—
Gorgon's existence!
The earth rose, and from the cracked ground emerged the towering figure of the goddess, colossal like a giant. Her golden wings unfurled slowly, radiating divine majesty.
Her three thousand strands of hair, as agile as serpents, rose and twisted, staring at the golden and black forces battling in the heavens.
An uncontrollable desire to devour the other surged within Alaric's heart, plunging him into a state of ecstasy.
Alaric was certain that if he could devour Gorgon, it would undoubtedly bring him an immense boost.
As for which part of her he wanted to devour? Alaric couldn't determine that—he could only sense the existence of this desire.
Strangely, though Ana and Gorgon were the same entity, Alaric never felt this urge toward Ana.
Where exactly lay the difference between the two?
Alaric was eager to find out!
"You…!"
Unlike Alaric's excitement, Kingu felt only fury.
Within just a single day, this outdated human, who should have been crushed effortlessly, had unleashed such absurdly powerful firepower, attempting to evaporate the Blood Temple in one fell swoop.
Had Kingu not intervened, even Gorgon, despite her immortality, would have been severely injured!
This was something Kingu absolutely could not accept. What enraged him further was that Alaric now wielded power capable of matching him in his current state!
"Surprised? Didn't expect this, did you?"
Alaric suddenly shoved Kingu away, creating some distance, and, seeing Kingu's dark expression, felt a surge of satisfaction.
"Kingu, so this is the power of you, the child of Tiamat?"
"You talk too much. This time, I'll kill you for sure—"
Kingu glared at Alaric's arrogant expression, and behind him, hundreds to thousands of golden ripples appeared. Countless chains of heaven danced like silver dragons, rushing toward Alaric to ensnare him!
But seeing Kingu's actions, Alaric's grin remained unmoved.
"Projection, begin!"
With the conclusion of his incantation, numerous weapons appeared behind Alaric, flying past his sides and colliding with the chains of heaven, resulting in explosions and clashes!
"What?!"