This... probably isn’t quite right, is it?

Looking at the Angel in front of him, who was speaking her malice as if it were only natural, proclaiming that all demons ought to be killed to the last, Leon’s eyes narrowed on reflex.

It was perfectly normal for an Angel to have that attitude toward demons, and to believe that total annihilation was the best outcome for demons, but the way she brought it up was extremely intriguing.

If he hadn’t misunderstood her, what she wanted to express was not "justice eradicates evil, replacing the bad with the good," but something like the extreme notion of: "As long as you hold kindness in your heart, even if you use the harshest methods to slaughter every last demon, it’s perfectly fine."

Even if, factually speaking, the vast majority of demons truly deserved such an ending, the way this Angel lady phrased it carried a kind of unquestioning blind obedience, a fervor and cruelty that sat uncomfortably far from the idea of "salvation."

"Miss Mia."

After glancing at the Angel’s Heart Lake, which still showed no abnormality, Leon did not comment much on her words, and instead gently reminded her:

"But what you said earlier was ’save,’ wasn’t it? Salvation should mean helping someone escape imminent danger, or some kind of bad state. If you simply kill the other party outright..."

"That’s salvation too."

The Angel spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

"The Holy Mother is the source of all ’good’, the kindest, most merciful and greatest being in Old Soil and even in many more worlds. All her actions arise from her own good will, and thus are naturally correct.

Saving you Lost Souls, giving you new lives, is salvation. Destroying those demons born of evil, ending their sinful lives once and for all, using pain to cleanse the sins they have committed, is also a form of salvation."

Well then...

Gazing at the Angel’s soul, still pure white as ever, Leon merely nodded without further comment, his eyes glinting as he asked:

"Then if... I mean if, if the Holy Mother did not destroy the demons, but chose instead to forgive their sins and turn them into Angels like you, then..."

"What nonsense are you spouting!!!"

Obviously provoked by Leon’s hypothetical, the earlier gentleness and warmth vanished from the Angel’s face in an instant, replaced by visible anger and hostility.

"How could the Holy Mother possibly do such a thing? She is..."

"But you said it yourself, didn’t you? She is the source of all ’good’, and all of the Holy Mother’s actions arise from good will, so they must all be correct."

Leon blinked his big bovine eyes, and asked back with a face full of confusion:

"According to that logic, if the Pure White Holy Mother really did that, then it must also be correct, mustn’t it?"

"This..."

Caught by an elementary logic problem that could not have been simpler, the flames of anger on the Angel’s face faded quickly. Her eyes first went blank as she opened her mouth, then she promptly reacted and rebuked sharply:

"But that’s only your hypothesis! The Holy Mother would never do such a thing! Demons are the incarnation of evil, while Angels are born from good will, she is..."

"She has already done it."

Interrupting the Angel’s words, Leon, with his bull’s head, stared into her eyes and sent over a bona fide dream, whose content was precisely the scene of the Pure White Holy Mother, in the Hundred Thousand Abyss of Evil, hugging those angel-demons one by one.

’No matter what you were like in the past... now, all of you have already become my children... Between a mother and her children... all that’s needed is a warm embrace.’

’Don’t be afraid, don’t be anxious, and certainly don’t regret. None of that is your fault. Being born a demon was not a path you chose for yourself.’

’I am not here to save you, nor do I intend to grant you any enlightenment. I simply want to hold you... Will you be my child?’

This... this... this isn’t real! This absolutely isn’t real!

With part of her consciousness dragged into the dream, looking at the Pure White Holy Mother, who was gently consoling them with pity and loving kindness while embracing the demons, the Angel’s faith immediately suffered a devastating blow.

Even though she kept warning herself that this was some kind of false illusion, a method used by an enemy who had infiltrated the Pure White Soil to shatter her faith, the Pure White Holy Mother before her eyes was simply too real. Her looks, her bearing, her expression, her voice—every last detail was exactly the same as in her own memories.

Even the way she embraced and soothed the demons carried the very tenderness the Angel had yearned for in countless midnight dreams, and those dirty, filthy demons really did sprout the pure white wings unique to Angels under the Holy Mother’s gentle embrace.

"What you’re seeing is a dream, but it is also my real memory."

Secretly suppressing the Angel’s Heart Lake and soul to avoid drawing the attention of the mule-and-horse duo, Leon, having chosen her as the first breakthrough point, asked in a calm voice:

"Miss Mia, right now I bear you no malice, and I do not intend to harm anyone. I only want to confirm one thing... From your perspective, between the Pure White Holy Mother in your memory who ’eradicates evil to the last’ and the Pure White Holy Mother in front of you, who is embracing demons— which of them is the real her?"

"I..."

Staring at the dream that had suddenly frozen as if time itself had stopped, and at Leon, who had stepped out of the dream and walked slowly up to her, the Angel clenched her teeth as she tore herself free from her shock:

"You are definitely not some Lost Soul! Who are you really?"

"As you can see, I am a human."

After sensing her Heart Lake almost on the verge of shattering, Leon removed the bull-head mask, and said in a steady, reassuring tone:

"Don’t worry. Although I disguised myself as a Lost Soul to infiltrate the Pure White Soil, I’m not here to make trouble. In fact, it’s quite the opposite—I actually came to seek cooperation."

"Cooperation?"

"Yes, cooperation."

Gazing at the Angel in front of him, whose expression wavered between belief and doubt, Leon spoke with great seriousness:

"You’ve had a lot of contact with the winged folk and beasts. The destruction of Buzu County and Shepherd’s Plain is no longer a secret to you. That kind of annihilating attack didn’t just happen once; it will continue to happen in the future.

And the world I’m in, as well as the Pure White Soil where you Angels dwell, are both among the other side’s targets. At any time, we might be completely destroyed in the next attack. Even the Hundred Thousand Abyss of Evil, as vast as your Pure White Soil, has already suffered an extremely thorough destruction.

To prevent all of this from happening, I intend to unite with every force that can be united, so I chose to come to Old Soil and seek allies who can join forces with me. And your Pure White Holy Mother is one of my targets on this trip."

Attack... allies...

After hearing Leon out, the Angel seemed to have understood something, then clenched her fists and asked:

"You mean... the one who caused all of this has already set their sights on the Pure White Soil?"

"No. She hasn’t just set her sights on you—her gaze has never left you. She’s merely been waiting for the right moment."

"Hiss..."

At his words, the Angel couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath, then gritted her teeth and pressed on:

"What about the Dreaming Ravine? I heard that the Dreaming Ravine also went silent some time ago. Was that her doing as well?"