"So, please... stop doing things that could endanger the Tower, alright?"
The man's expression was profoundly sincere, yet tinged with caution:
"If you still harbor resentment towards us, we... we can find ways to apologize, we will do everything to earn your forgiveness, but please do not harm the Tower of Babel anymore. Lord Ansel is our pillar; do not speak those words before him. He might forgive once, twice, but not indefinitely."
Since that lecture at the Etheric Academy, having tasted the benefits of complete allegiance to Ansel, the Tower of Babel could no longer detach itself from this unrestricted, unbridled pleasure.
"...You simply do not understand the crux of the issue, Hendrik."
Helen stood up, her voice indifferent as she responded, "There is no need for us to continue this conversation, there never was."
Her situation was actually very similar to that of the Tower of Babel. Both held the belief that "as long as Ansel's support was secured, all problems could be resolved."
However, the issue was that the Tower of Babel's desired outcomes had long since diverged from its original intentions, while Helen, self-destructive, still clung to that flickering, fading belief.
Their actions seemed similar, but their ultimate goals and initial motivations were starkly different.
Both sought to realize their ideals by relying on Ansel, a contrast filled with irony. This irony made Helen, who already harbored resentment towards the Tower of Babel and its founders, even less likely to feel any affection for the Tower.
As she said, the Tower of Babel was now worthless because with Ansel, with her "father," any problem could be solved.
Helen, deciding not to continue the conversation, turned and left without hesitation.
"Wait—no... Stop, Ravenna!"
But as she reached for the doorknob, the man behind the desk also stood up, his voice stern, even somewhat... cold.
"This is not about whether we can negotiate now."
Hendrik gazed at the petite scholar, who wouldn't even turn her head back, and it was then that Hendrik finally made up his mind.
Hendrik instinctively reached out, trying to make Helen stop:
"How can you—"
At that moment, Hendrik's mind truly went blank, his consciousness momentarily disrupted and frozen.
Because just as she stepped out of the office door, "Ravenna Ziegler"...
Her chest burst open with a bloom of blood.
Just as Ansel stepped out of the Etheric Academy's main gate, he suddenly looked back and raised an eyebrow, saying:
"In such a hurry?"
"...What's the matter, Ansel, what's—ah!"
Seraphina suddenly jumped up, immediately turning her head in the direction of Ansel's gaze: "What, what is that! Gosh! It feels like some powerful entity suddenly erupted, is there a fight going on?"
"No, it's nothing, don't worry too much, Seri."
Ansel spoke leisurely: "This is merely a trial, a game, a... gamble."
["...And I bet that you are destined to have nothing, you will destroy your achievements and ideals in your own obsession and madness."](Chapter Puppet Repairer Ansel - IV)
"The winner gets their heart's desire, the loser loses everything, that's all there is to it."
From the window of Hendrik's office, the bird-like creature composed of Nidhoggur, the alchemical creation, conveyed everything happening inside the office to Ansel.
And he, toying with a bracelet of unknown origin, responded with such a smile.
*