However, that tenacious consciousness frantically devoured the surrounding flesh and matter, swelling grotesquely once more as it clung to its last sliver of life. It even launched a frenzied counterattack against the executioner trying to prevent them from surviving.
"Do you see how ugly they are? These lives aren't worth saving. You clearly carry a scent similar to mine, the lingering smell of blood, even heavier than mine. So why can't you understand me?!"
Angra Mainyu roared, his face twisted with madness and fury.
Samael turned, his gaze dim as he looked at the god of absolute evil. Memories of the past surfaced as he replied in a low, steady voice.
"Humans are indeed foolish and full of flaws, but that doesn't stop them from having something worth calling beautiful.
I can kill for my own purposes, and I can judge or deny someone based on their character and actions.
So if you choose to return to that village and take revenge on those ignorant people who persecuted you, I have no interest in interfering."
The Ancient Serpent's tone deepened, his expression turning solemn.
"But the difference is, I won't elevate personal hatred or vengeance against individuals into something directed at an entire group."
"Hah, hypocrisy! Do you really think that stopping this war, stopping me, will keep them from slaughtering each other?
The number of humans who kill their own kind far exceeds those I've slaughtered.
They'll kill over something as small as a piece of bread, a mouthful of water, a house, even a simple argument.
And on a larger scale, they wage wars for wealth, population, and land, dressing it all up with countless excuses, never once regretting it!
Hah! Humanity's existence only rots this world. Since these fools are bound to destroy themselves sooner or later, why shouldn't I be the one to end them?!"
Angra Mainyu's eyes turned chillingly cold. He raised a hand and gripped the shaft of the spear, enduring the intense pain and suppression as he slowly dragged it out of his shoulder inch by inch. Under his hysterical roar, his expression warped, radiating an overwhelming malice, a curse upon humanity and the world itself.
This hatred carried not only the resentment of that Persian youth toward ignorant villagers, but also the deep-seated loathing of Angra Mainyu, the God of Evil, toward all humanity.
In Persian myth, humans stood as allies and followers of Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, opposing Angra Mainyu across thousands of years of war.
It could be said that his hatred for humanity was carved into both his very being and his divinity.
"All humans deserve to die!"
"Too bad. You won't get that chance…"
Samael let out a soft sigh, then slowly drew back and leaned away. The Spear of Nation Building in his hand began to frantically draw in the surrounding Ether, as lines of divine runes formed across its surface.
"You are strong. I should have died countless times in this battle, but their hatred and unwillingness to accept defeat brought me back again and again.
You're not just fighting me, you're fighting the desires and sins of these vermin.
Do you really dare strike? For the sake of mere humans? You should know what that will lead to."
Sensing the terrifying power gathering at the spear's tip, Angra Mainyu didn't grow angry. Instead, he laughed.
In an instant, the blood-red markings carved across his body lit up with a savage glow. His eyes, filled with hatred and madness, locked onto his opponent. A sinister grin spread across his face, his gaze heavy with meaning, while his body pulsed, swelling and contracting, radiating a chilling malice.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!
At the same time, sensing the danger to its host, a boiling black tide surged in from all directions. Within every splash of that pitch-black fluid, twisted, screaming human faces writhed.
A soul, filled with unwillingness and fury, cried out hysterically:
Why are we the ones who have to die?! Why do they get to live?!
Why are some born wealthy while others live in poverty?!
Why do some indulge while others suffer?!
Why are they saved, while we're abandoned?!
I hate this! I hate this!
I want to live! I want to live!
Amid the soul-rending cries, pale arms stretched out one after another from the black tide, grasping toward Samael, trying to protect the trapped Angra Mainyu while dragging this partial god down to their level, staining him with the same darkness.
The souls before him were like crabs thrown into a narrow bamboo basket, their limbs entangled as they clawed and tore at one another. No one could escape. No one could be saved.
That boundless evil spread unchecked, seeking to drag every living thing it encountered into the abyss of destruction, forcing them to endure the same despair and suffering.
Across this land of nothingness, the sinful desires of all living beings had long since rotted, their stench overflowing and spreading in every direction.
Samael's divine will surged. The Runes flickering between light and shadow in the sky fell one after another, blasting apart the grotesque limbs that had formed from the black tide.
Yet again and again, they reassembled, taking on even more twisted and frenzied shapes as they continued their endless assault.
"Is this the evil of humanity carved into you?"
The moment his vision cleared, the Ancient Serpent drew a slow breath. His gaze settled into calm stillness, and as his lips moved, a deep, solemn voice echoed in all directions.
"I declare: I govern slaughter, I govern life; what I wound, I heal.
None may escape my grasp. None may flee my sight.
Let all be destroyed.
The broken, the ruined, the aged, I call them all back.
Entrust yourselves to me, learn from me, obey me.
In your moments of rest, forget not the song, forget not the prayer, forget not me.
With my lightness, cast off all burdens and rest within my hands.
Eternal life is granted through death.
Man's original sin began with the serpent.
Man's seven sins are bestowed by me.
Man's filth is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.
Light is born from darkness. God emerges from the devil. Death is rebirth.
For your sins, be anointed and marked.
Forgiveness is here and now. Swear your oath upon my incarnation.
Let my mercy fall upon this place!"
Under the authority of this divine invocation, the spear in Samael's hand, brimming with overwhelming divine power, shot forth with a thunderous cry as he declared:
"This hatred, this Curse, I accept it!"
Boom!
The Spear of Nation Building became a streak of crimson light, piercing straight through the core of the god of ultimate evil. Blazing red and black flames surged upward in its wake.
"Hahahaha! You fool, drunk on your own righteousness!"
As the flames of fate scorched him, his skin split and his body shattered. The black tide around him boiled violently, engulfing the tormented god and reshaping him into a monstrous wolf that stood upright, its entire body pitch-black, howling out venomous, hysterical curses.
Those who stole my life, I curse you!
Those who offered no help, I curse you!
Those who are biased and unjust, I curse you!
I curse you! I curse you! I curse you!
"Look well at the humans you want to protect. Strip away their disguises, and this is what they really are. Even if a god were to sacrifice himself for them, these vermin wouldn't feel gratitude. They would only wait until you're weak, then devour your flesh!"
At that moment, Angra Mainyu sneered as the blade of the dead he hurled plunged into the ground. Twisted runes spread across the withered earth, forming vein-like patterns of red and black.
Immediately, one after another, the deranged who had willingly fallen into corruption just to survive staggered forward from all directions. Their swollen, distorted limbs swayed as their eyes, filled with greed and hunger, locked onto Samael as if he were a feast laid before them.
"Look. This is your end. Your finale!"
Transformed into that ferocious wolf god, Angra Mainyu threw back his head and laughed wildly. Persian script rippled across the surface of his pitch-black divine body, resonating in unison. The surging authority it unleashed shook the world, warping and breaking everything around them into a distorted darkness.
The End of the Four Nights! The Transcription of All Phenomena!
Puff! Puff!
At the same time, a counterforce from the level of laws erupted. Mirroring Angra Mainyu's wounds, massive bloody holes burst open in Samael's chest and shoulder blades. Twisted Persian script crawled along the edges of the wounds like insects, spreading like red-black fungal threads rooted deep in his flesh. A withering weakness, like that of a dying old man, weighed down his limbs as if bound by heavy chains.
As the sandstorm and streams of light from the clash of divine power gradually faded, hundreds of deranged sinners, like beasts catching the scent of prey, charged wildly and eagerly toward his faltering figure on the barren land.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that very moment, sharp whistling sounds tore through the air. One after another, arrows over a meter and a half long rained down, pinning the beast-like monsters to the ground. The rapid pounding of hooves broke through the storm, crashing straight into the horde.
On horseback, clad in battered light armor, her red hair streaming behind her, the Amazon Queen led several warriors forward. With longbows and short blades, they forced their way through, carving out a path soaked in blood.
Severed limbs and mangled flesh flew through the air, red-black blood splattering and steaming along the way.
Yet the deranged sinners felt no pain. Instead, they scrambled to snatch up the rotting flesh torn from their own bodies, devouring it madly. From the torn stumps of their bodies, even more grotesque tumors rapidly grew, sprouting new limbs that bore no resemblance to their original form, clawing wildly at the warhorses and the intruding warriors.
Several Amazon warriors, unable to dodge in time, tried to gather Mana to resist. But they quickly realized the land itself, steeped in malice, was rejecting all life. The speed at which their Ether drained and weakened far exceeded anything they had anticipated.
In a brief lapse, a warrior who fell behind was dragged into the mass of monsters. Amid muffled cries, she was torn apart and devoured in an instant.
Even as the warriors behind her were swallowed one by one by the surging tide of deranged sinners, the Amazon Queen did not slow, nor did she hesitate. Without a second thought, she pressed forward, charging straight toward the conical crater where a lone figure stood.
Tsk…
I told them. This place is a forbidden zone of divine warfare, and they still dared to come. Are they not afraid of death?
Truly a species that constantly seeks to break its limits and defy the divine.
Samael shook his head, murmuring to himself. The fingers gripping the shaft of his spear slowly loosened. His body, pushed beyond its limits, fell backward, and his strained consciousness sank into silence and darkness.
Yet at the corner of his lips, a faint smile appeared.
Humans are always making mistakes, yet they keep weaving something beautiful out of it.
They may not be perfect, but they are far from beyond saving.