Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Hearing this former son of man make such a resolute judgment, Irisviel became even more confused.

"What do you mean, Samael?"

The ancient serpent's fingertips brushed across the still-warm altar patterns, letting out a soft, cold snort.

"She wants to simulate an apocalyptic disaster in Fuyuki City to lure me into taking action, breaking the shackles of fate for him, and achieving true freedom!"

"The shackles of fate?"

"It's the magic box...!"

Seeing that Irisviel still seemed to understand only vaguely, Samael's eyes flashed with a hint of reminiscence. He sighed helplessly and began to recount the true history of the Einzbern family.

In the Greek Age of Gods, the Olympian gods, in order to punish the old humanity and gain faith, secretly gathered their power to create a divine replica—Pandora, "the one with all talents"—and bestowed upon her a divinely created weapon, the "Pandora's Box," capable of collecting human evil and worldly misfortunes to create catastrophe.

Pandora was a primordial being created and blessed by the gods, but she was also a human pillar that existed as a key.

Her duty is to open Pandora's box, bestow destruction and calamity upon the world, severely damage the new human race that worships God on earth, and assist the gods in relinquishing their divine authority.

However, after releasing all the calamities, legend has it that beneath the endless suffering of disease, aging, jealousy, and killing, a glimmer of hope was also born, capable of granting humanity light and fulfilling its desires.

Therefore, it is also known as the "Holy Grail of the Age of Gods".

The Holy Grail of the Age of Gods and the Einzbern Minor Grail;

The Key to the Magic Box and the Guardian of the Holy Grail;

Does this sound familiar?

Indeed, both are essentially from the same source and lead to the same goal, and are related in a similar way.

Similarly, the flaws that the [Guardian of the Holy Grail] himself possessed, were also present in the prototype, Pandora, the [Key to the Box], and were even more severe.

That is, when the [Phantom Box] or the [Minor Grail] overflows, the self-function of the human sacrifice stagnates and the body collapses.

As an instrument that executes commands, no matter how precise it is, it will inevitably have many internal problems after thousands of years of wear and tear.

In addition, there is a Pandora's box that constantly collects the evils of this world but has never been opened, accumulating malice that is difficult for ordinary people to bear.

Therefore, even as a creation of God, Pandora will inevitably head towards self-destruction.

In an attempt to save herself, the woman of calamity, who was gradually discovering her own problems, used her extraordinary wisdom and talent to devise a strategy to prolong her life.

The third method is the materialization of the soul.

As a result, she succeeded.

However, it was only half successful.

The third method, called "Soul Materialization," allows Pandora to repair her own damage and achieve immortality, but it still cannot eradicate the spiritual corruption caused by the Pandora's Box.

"If I'm not mistaken, she has already 'died' once..."

Samael's eyes flashed, and he murmured meaningfully.

"Alice, do you remember the records of the Einzbern family regarding the Third Mage?"

"Missing?"

Irisviel recalled the cryptic passage in her family's collection of books and answered somewhat uncertainly.

"When a mage's strength reaches the level of a magician, even if they disappear, there should be clues to follow. With the decline of the Age of Gods, external factors are no longer a threat to a magician, let alone the third law that can achieve immortality?"

Samael spoke softly, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"So, excluding the impossible factors, there is only one answer: the problem lies within herself! While materializing her soul allowed her to maintain her existence and gain near-eternal life, it could not completely resolve her own hidden dangers."

Then, the ancient snake paused, a hint of amusement flashing in its eyes.

"So, using herself as a model, she created more prototypes, hoping to find the answer to break free from the shackles of fate through continuous attempts."

"And so, Einzbernburg came into being."

"And so, the Winter Saintess Justessa came into being."

However, human technology is no match for that of the gods. Even the perfect body that the Einberlen family spent nine hundred years preparing for Pandora still had more serious flaws.

Although Yustissa herself does not age, she will die due to her frail body, so she cannot leave the city.

Because of her intellectual and spiritual immortality, she never grows up. Objectively speaking, it's something like "eternally repeating the same day."

Although she would be freed from the "same day" once she left the city, what happened outside the city meant a slow death to Justesa.

This still cannot solve her problems, nor the corruption brought about by the Pandora's Box.

"And so, the Holy Grail War began..."

The ancient snake lowered its voice, a cold smile appearing at the corner of its mouth, its face showing a clear understanding of the truth.

To put it simply, the Fuyuki City Holy Grail Ceremony is a simulation and reproduction of the Pandora's Box of the Age of Gods.

And

In the Third Holy Grail War, the Einberlen family, who participated in the war, illegally summoned the Average, thereby corrupting the Holy Grail.

Samael suspected that this was probably at Pandora's behest.

But despite repeated attempts, they were unable to resolve the troubles of the calamity witch herself.

Furthermore, due to her unique constitution, a series of calamities, such as alien keys, the Old Testament, and the remains of wandering stars, continuously gathered around her, further amplifying the influence of the Pandora's Box curse.

After trying all possible ways to save myself, all my efforts were in vain.

That leaves only one last option:

Since she can't escape the Pandora's Box's influence through normal means, she might as well destroy it! Break free from this cage of fate bestowed upon her by the gods!

Therefore, the game in Fuyuki City began to be set up gradually two hundred years ago.

"However, before she can begin this game, she needs an expert to deal with the calamity."

"you?"

Irisviel, who was listening attentively, pointed to Samael beside her and suddenly realized what was going on.

"That's right. Whether it's the Pandora's Box, the Alien Key, or the Old Testament, I'm probably the most professional when it comes to dealing with these things..."

Samael nodded, then shrugged helplessly.

Simply put, he was taken advantage of by the other side.

At this moment, Irisviel, who was instilled with a strong sense of responsibility from birth, couldn't help but ask further questions.

"That long-cherished wish of the Einzbern family?"

"In theory, the Einzbern family is indeed helping humanity; she didn't lie to you..."

The ancient snake ground its teeth and rolled its eyes wide.

"Because if we don't help her solve the problem of the Pandora's Box, when disaster strikes, she will drag humanity down with her."

"..."

Irisviel's lips twitched slightly; she was speechless.

So, is this what it means to achieve human salvation?

This answer seems right, yet it also seems wrong in some ways...

Okay, it's another classic case of telling the truth while lying.

"So, Xiao Hei came here because..."

“I just checked the altar. The spiritual particles that Justeza scattered throughout the Fuyuki City ley lines have been completely recovered…”

The ancient serpent glanced at the still-warm altar, its face growing even more sullen.

"It is estimated that after successfully breaking free from the corruption of the Pandora's Box, she used the remaining Third Magic and the magic of the Fuyuki City ley lines to reconstruct her body."

At this moment, after careful analysis, Samael finally pieced together the complete answer. His face gradually darkened, and he couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"I said, the Third Magic is clearly the most durable of the five great magics, so how did she die so easily! And the Holy Grail War was so intense, yet in the end, Fuyuki City suffered almost zero casualties! After all that, that woman was just putting on an act for me from beginning to end!"

Sure enough, his good daughter, whom he had taught since childhood, had fully inherited his teachings.

Moreover, the student surpasses the teacher.

In this reunion between father and daughter, Pandora has outmaneuvered her.

Seeing Samael's uncertain expression, Irisviel pointed to the cave entrance and asked softly.

"So, should we give chase?"

"Forget it, her merits and demerits cancel each other out, so let's not pursue it further. Since she hasn't caused any major trouble, let's just let her be."

Samael snapped out of his daze, his gaze falling on that stunningly beautiful face. The gloom between his brows vanished, replaced by a bright and radiant smile.

"After all, her Holy Grail has already given me the most wonderful gift..."

As he spoke, a pair of arms wrapped around her and lifted her up in a hug.

“Samael…”

The silver-haired wife, her pretty face slightly flushed, nestled gently in her husband's arms, her eyes overflowing with happiness.

In the dim and secluded cavern, two intersecting figures collapsed onto the altar, gradually closing the distance until they merged into one.

Meanwhile, in the distance.

Accompanied by rustling sounds, two figures, one tall and one short, chased each other as they swiftly moved through the woods.

A moment later, the woman in the black dress with silver hair, who had taken a shortcut, caught up with her daughter, grabbed her arm, and swung it back and forth like a child, using a sweet, coquettish voice.

"Little Blackie, don't be angry with Mommy anymore. Didn't I think of you the first thing I thought of when I woke up?"

"You still dare to talk! Why didn't you help me back in Ainsworth?! Why did you abandon me?!"

However, Chloe, still furious, couldn't help but glare and angrily denounce the despicable behavior of a certain unscrupulous parent.

"How could you think of your mother like that? I did that because I love you!"

Upon hearing this, Pandora looked heartbroken and on the verge of tears, her face full of resentment as she lamented her injustice.

Chloe, having been fooled time and time again, naturally wouldn't easily believe this explanation.

"Don't try that! You think I'll fall for your tricks!"

The Witch of Calamity, her face showing the sorrow of being misunderstood, clutched her chest and explained the reason with great pain.

“We had no chance of winning this battle from the very beginning! In that situation, you were only safer with your father. If you stayed with me, you would die, and how could your mother bear that! I would rather die myself than see you get hurt!”

"Really?"

Seeing that Pandora spoke with sincerity and reason, Chloe couldn't help but waver in her judgment.

"You didn't lie to me?"

"Of course!"

Seeing her daughter's tense expression soften, Pandora immediately made a solemn promise, shaking Little Black's arm as she did so.

Looking forward to a bright future.

“I know that guy. As long as you behave, he will definitely be able to take good care of you. When I break the curse that has been pressing on me and bring you back to my side, my daughter and I will no longer have to run around for this kind of thing and can live a free and easy life.”

At the same time, those innocently blinking eyes were full of earnestness and longing.

"Trust me! You have to trust Mom! I absolutely, positively love Chloe the most!"

"Okay, fine, I'll trust you one more time..."

Soon, Chloe, unable to keep up, gave in and turned her head away, responding with a soft hum.

"just one time!"

"Yes, yes, Mom will definitely not let Xiao Hei down!"

Having successfully gained her daughter's trust, Pandora couldn't help but cheer with joy. She immediately picked up her daughter and excitedly rubbed her beautiful face against her taut little face.

"Chloe! It's Chloe!"

Chloe raised her hand to press down on Pandora's thrashing head, protesting angrily.

Finally, after being thoroughly ravaged, the chocolate-skinned loli body pillow, with its clothes disheveled and its little face flushed, was reluctantly placed back on the ground by a sexually harassing adult.

"Tch, how old are you? Still acting like a child. I can't stand you..."

Chloe glared at her mother, gave her a light snort and a few words of criticism, then looked around and quietly offered a reminder.