"Then let's talk about something practical. The Jews have believed in God for so many years. Where is their nation? Where are their people?"
Their nation had fallen again and again, reduced to a vassal, while their people were displaced and forced to live under others.
Those facts flashed through Martha's mind. Her lips pressed tight, and she stubbornly argued back.
"This is the Lord's test for us, because the descendants of Abraham lost their devotion to Him."
"The Exodus was a test, going to Canaan was a test, building the First Temple was a test, and the Jews being destroyed by Assyria was also a test. So your Lord has that much free time, testing you with thousands upon thousands of lives whenever He feels like it? By the way, didn't you say your Lord was merciful?"
Samael sneered back, his face full of mockery.
"The Lord is merciful, but humanity bears original sin and must endure hardship to receive redemption."
Martha answered without hesitation, another textbook reply.
"Earlier, you said your Lord created all things in the world. Then in theory, [sin] was also created by Him. So shouldn't the one who caused it take responsibility for humanity's sins? Why haven't we seen Him come out to take the blame? Why hasn't anyone punished Him?"
"…"
As a professional scapegoat himself, Samael retorted irritably. His blasphemous words made Martha glare at him, but she had no answer.
"If your Lord is merciful, then why does Genesis Chapter 11 of the Old Testament say that after the Great Flood, when humanity united to build the Tower of Babel in hopes of reaching heaven and pursuing eternal happiness, God stopped them?
"If your Lord is just, why are some people poor while others are rich? Why do some live long lives while others die young? Why do some drown themselves in pleasure while others cannot obtain what they seek?
"Can the eternal kingdom really satisfy every human desire? I remember Persia is still a slave society, right? If those enslaved people who join you want to live like their Jewish masters and have their masters serve them instead, can that be granted? Let's go even further. If everyone wants to be king, or everyone wants to be God, then who will be the subjects? Who will stand at the bottom?
"If your God is truly omniscient and omnipotent, why can't He simply turn everyone into His believer? Why doesn't He directly remake the planet and create paradise, instead of conscripting millions to launch the Greco-Persian Wars and seize the water and soil that belong to Greece?"
Samael's rapid-fire questions left Martha dizzy and speechless.
"See? An omniscient and omnipotent Divine Spirit can't even satisfy his own desires, yet he wants us to believe he can fulfill the wishes of tiny humans. Don't you think that's absurd?"
"Shut your damn mouth! The Lord's light brought the gospel and healed my brother. I won't allow you to slander Him!"
The Ancient Serpent's final taunt made the veins on Martha's forehead bulge. Blood rushed to her head, and in her anger, she clenched her fist and swung at the blasphemer's face.
But the instant she threw the punch, the violet-haired Holy Maiden realized her situation and immediately regretted it.
Thud!
Even more unexpectedly, the monster opposite her, the one who had fought seven of them at once yesterday and suppressed them all, sensed the incoming fist and instinctively frowned, twisting his body. But his movement suddenly froze, and Martha's fist, which was not much stronger than an ordinary person's, landed squarely on Samael's chest.
Hum!
In an instant, that punch became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The faint impact entering Samael's body disrupted the fragile balance of power he had been maintaining. Chaotic Ether surged outward, whipping up a biting storm.
Oh no!
A crushing sense of suffocation rushed toward her, and Martha's face went pale.
At the critical moment, the overwhelming stream of Ether light was cut off. The trembling tables and chairs around them settled back into silence.
"Cough, cough…"
The figure in front of her dropped heavily onto the bed. His face shifted between blue and red as his blood churned. He raised his right hand to cover his lips and coughed violently.
I… I'm alive…
Martha, who had been left breathless by the divine might just now, braced one hand against the table and gasped for air, still shaken.
"Samael is in danger!"
But the danger inside had only just passed when a sharp sound tore through the air outside the door. Daphne led a group of Battle Nymphs guarding the Greek camp into the room with a cry.
However, the moment they entered, the pure Nymphs serving the virgin goddess Artemis saw a scene too indecent to look at.
Some impatient lecher was pressing the captured Holy Maiden, whose back was turned to the door, down onto the bed. Her loose white Greek dress had slipped halfway from her crystalline shoulder blade, and her long violet hair spilled across the pillow, giving her a disheveled, profaned beauty.
The innocent little ones shrieked one after another and immediately raised their hands to cover their eyes, though their bright eyes kept peeking curiously through the gaps between their fingers.
"Seen enough? Get out! I still have things to do tonight. Don't guard anywhere near here!"
His Majesty the King, whose mood had been ruined, gave an irritated snort and drove the group of curious Battle Nymphs out.
Only after the little girls' chattering and gossiping gradually faded did Samael release his grip on those pale wrists. He leaned weakly against the headboard, wiped a thread of blood from the corner of his mouth, pressed his forehead, and groaned.
"Fine, they're gone. Get up."
Everything had happened so suddenly that Martha had been pinned to the bed by a pair of demonic hands before she could react. Now that it was over, she finally came back to herself, pulled up the slipped shoulder strap, and flushed crimson. The look she gave Samael was full of shame and anger.
"You bastard…"
But in the end, the violet-haired Holy Maiden bit her lips. Realizing what he had done, she took a deep breath and muttered in disgust, as if she had swallowed a fly.
"Forget it. Anyway, thank you. But one person bears the consequences of one person's actions. You don't need to save me next time!"
"Next time?! How many lives do you think I have to let you mess with me like this?"
Samael suddenly sat up, his face dark.
Martha's gaze fell on Samael's chest, where his loosened shirt revealed red-black fungal markings spread across his skin. She instantly understood the cause and effect. Knowing she was in the wrong, she swallowed her rebuttal.
"I mean, arguing is one thing, but getting physical is going too far…"
The Ancient Serpent rolled his eyes and began scolding the Iron-Fisted Holy Maiden before him for her hidden temper. Martha, feeling guilty, muttered sullenly.
"Sophistry! Fallacies! Everything you said was blasphemous lies!"
"Still stubborn?"
Samael propped himself up with one hand, raised three fingers one by one, and questioned her calmly.
"You remember the Ten Commandments that Moses, descendant of Abraham, made in his covenant with God, don't you?"
"…"
Martha, who had already been tricked badly enough to have a shadow over her heart, kept her mouth shut.
"Fine, I'll help you remember.
"The Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill.
"The Eighth Commandment: Thou shalt not steal.
"The Tenth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Nor shalt thou covet thy neighbor's wife, servants, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to him.
"Killing, stealing, and seizing the water and soil that belong to Greece. These are all commandments you have broken. When your own interests are involved, those so-called restraints become empty words. Is this the faith you stand so firmly by?"
The Ancient Serpent's patterned cross-star pupils met the Holy Maiden's blue eyes. Faced with a question that struck at her soul, Martha instinctively looked away, unable to answer.