Chapter 548
Chapter Title: A God's Revelation
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At the sudden declaration, the entire student body stared at Rian with blank faces.
Though they were Lumerne students who had experienced all sorts of things as hero candidates, this was the first time they had met a child who suddenly claimed to be a god.
Ordinarily, they might have dismissed her as someone mentally unstable.
But Mel stood behind Rian.
There wasn't a single Lumerne student who didn't know Mel was the Dragon Lord.
They only kept quiet because Mel herself denied it.
Everyone knew her true identity.
And this was the child who had come with Mel.
To simply call her a mentally strange child was difficult, as Mel seemed to be vouching for Rian's identity.
“Still, a god? Does that even make sense?”
“I know.”
Chelsea and Karl wore expressions of disbelief.
The idea that a god, who had vanished from the world at the end of the Age of Calamity, would suddenly appear was not an easy story to believe.
Even if she had come with the Dragon Lord.
Doubting Rian's identity, Chelsea and Karl glanced at Leo, who was sitting between them.
And upon seeing Leo's serious expression, their faces went blank.
Karl whispered to Leo.
“Hey, Leo. No way… is it for real?”
When Leo gave a slight nod, Chelsea and Karl's mouths fell open.
‘A god?’
Weren't gods supposed to be omnipotent beings?
The image of an absolute being who would make onlookers bow their heads instinctively was strong in their minds.
But Rian's appearance was different from what they had imagined.
Of course, her face was stunningly beautiful.
Literally, a perfectly sculpted face.
That alone drew the attention of everyone around.
But she didn't feel like a divine being or someone to be worshipped.
“Is it just this god, Rian? Maybe she’s young for a god, given her youthful appearance.”
“That could be it.”
“Appearance means little to the likes of gods.”
Leo said indifferently.
“Age is meaningless to a god. If she looks like that, it’s purely a matter of preference.”
“Ah…”
“Besides, gods are surprisingly incompetent.”
“Incompetent? But the texts clearly state they’re omnipotent, right? Was that a lie?”
Chelsea asked, bewildered.
“They are omnipotent. It’s just that they can’t use that omnipotence to affect the mortal world.”
“Then why did the gods of the past descend to the world in the first place?”
Karl asked in a dazed voice.
The ruins and texts from the Age of Gods, before the Age of Calamity, are still actively being studied.
It was a fascinating research topic.
Though not anymore, gods had clearly existed in the distant past.
During the Age of Gods, people worshipped the gods, and based on that worship, the gods wielded great influence over the world.
Therefore, scholars who studied the Age of Gods believed that the gods had orchestrated that era to expand their own influence.
Leo answered Karl's question flatly.
“They were bored.”
“What?”
“They had nothing to do in the divine realm, so they crawled down to the mortal world out of boredom.”
At the unimaginable answer, Karl and Chelsea gaped.
From the perspective of those living in the present, it was only natural to have illusions about the gods.
‘Illusions are meant to be broken. And that’s how everyone grows up.’
Leo looked at Rian with the expression of a mischievous adult.
‘Is she going to talk about what we discussed back then?’
“First, there is a story I must tell you.”
All expression vanished from Rian’s face.
Seeing this, the Lumerne students held their breath.
An unbelievable charisma emanated from Rian, who just moments ago had been laughing like an airhead.
She was an incomprehensible being, but in that moment, she easily overwhelmed the entire assembly of hero candidates.
“The story I will tell you is about the final battle for the fate of the world, 5,000 years ago.”
The battle for the fate of the world 5,000 years ago!
There was no one here who didn't know what that meant.
‘The final battle of the Great Heroes…!’
A battle not recorded in the Hero Record, nor found in any texts.
A story passed down only through legends.
Although some details of how it unfolded had recently been revealed through the Dragon Lord, Mel, the specifics were still unknown.
As everyone held their breath.
Rian, who had been exuding a charisma that overwhelmed the audience, fumbled with something in her robes, then placed puppets of the Great Heroes on the five fingers of her left hand.
And on her right hand, she placed a puppet of Erebos and began a childish puppet show.
“A long, long time ago, there was the Primordial Abomination and the five Great Heroes.”
***
“In the end! The Hero of the Beginning, left all alone, stood before the Primordial Abomination with the weight of the world on his shoulders! And he single-handedly vanquished this abomination that even the gods could not handle! But the ungrateful world forgot the achievements of the Hero of the Beginning! How can this not be lamented!”
After finishing the puppet show.
Rian was busy praising Kyle at the top of her lungs.
“I don't know about other races, but you are all human! Who is the hero that humans must respect and worship the most?!”
Rian spread her arms wide.
“The Hero of the Beginning, Kyle! You must worship and revere Kyle, who achieved a feat that the likes of gods could not! As hero candidates, you must serve Kyle, the beginning of everything! But in the mortal realm, despite the presence of such a great being, there are foolish children who harbor illusions about useless beings like gods! I'm sure there are some among you!”
‘There were. But if you’re really a god, I think those illusions are going to be shattered today.’
A few Lumerne students muttered inwardly.
“A question for you! What kind of being is Kyle?”
Watching Rian ask with wide, intense eyes, the Lumerne students looked at each other.
Just then, someone cautiously raised their hand.
It was Iliana.
“Speak, maiden.”
“Is Kyle greater than the gods?”
“Correct. An excellent answer, maiden.”
Rian nodded in satisfaction.
“I hope you will never forget today’s lesson. That Kyle is a being so great he cannot be compared to the likes of gods. You must never forget.”
“How long is she going to keep that up?”
“Is she really trying to start a religion?”
Chelsea and Karl muttered in weary voices as they watched the ceaselessly praising Rian.
“You must be wondering. Why I worship the Hero of the Beginning like this.”
Rian smiled faintly.
“The reason is simple. It is because only he could save the world.”
Rian looked out at the hero candidates.
“Hero candidates, inheritors of Lumerne's will. Did you know? That 3,000 years ago, Lumerne came to find me?”
At those words, the Lumerne students began to murmur.
“3,000 years ago… are you talking about the time of the Return of the Calamity?”
When Chloe raised her hand and asked, Rian nodded.
“Yes. To be precise, it was after the end of the Return of the Calamity as you know it.”
“The Return of the Calamity as we know it?”
Chloe looked bewildered.
Looking at Chloe, Rian said.
“I will tell you the truth of the world, a truth known only to the successor of the King of Wisdom and the descendants of Rhodia, the Dragon of Dawn, for the past 3,000 years.”
The Lumerne students’ gazes naturally turned to Mel.
“The Return of the Calamity has not yet ended.”
For a moment, the Lumerne students couldn't comprehend Rian's words.
Rian continued speaking to them impassively.
“The fragment of Erebos that awoke 3,000 years ago, during the Return of the Calamity, has not yet been vanquished.”
“What?”
“What do you mean…!”
Gasps of shock erupted from all around.
Rian continued, addressing them.
“And the Heroes of the Dawn are also still alive.”
At Rian's declaration, everyone's eyes widened.
“3,000 years ago, a human reached the place where I reside. It was Lumerne. He came to me and sought my wisdom. A way to vanquish the endlessly resurrecting fragment of Erebos.”
With a blank face, Rian spoke of the world’s truth.
“I told him. That as things stood, there was no way to vanquish the primordial evil. But there was a way to seal it.”
Rian lifted her head and gazed at the portrait of Lumerne hanging in the great hall.
The story of how, 3,000 years ago, the Heroes of the Dawn came to seal Erebos.
***
It was, in a word, shocking.
The fact that the power of the Heroes of the Dawn was not enough to vanquish Erebos.
The truth that the resurrected fragment of Erebos and the Heroes of the Dawn are still locked in an endless struggle.
And even the story that Erebos was the reason the Hero Record was torn 3,000 years ago.
It was an unbelievable story.
But there were those here who had witnessed proof that the story was true.
“Elena. Then the Erebos we defeated in Luna's world was…”
“A shard of the first fragment… I believe.”
Lunia and Elena conversed with grim expressions.
“Then the Lord Seirun who appeared in Seirun back then… was the real one?!”
Eiran covered her mouth and murmured in a trembling voice.
Celia raised her hand.
“I have a question! Were the Heroes of the Dawn not strong enough to vanquish the Flame of Calamity?”
“The Heroes of the Dawn are likely stronger than you imagine. Since the beginning of the world, those stronger than them are so few they can be counted on ten fingers. Even the Primordial Abomination, in its fragmented state, could never defeat the Heroes of the Dawn. That is why the world is maintained as it is now.”
“Then why did they have no choice but to seal it within the Hero Record?”
Rian answered Chloe, who asked with a confused expression.
“Even if the King of Wisdom, the Progenitor of the Nebula, the Brave Hero, and the Divine Blacksmith had been there, the Primordial Abomination could not have been completely vanquished. That abomination is an immortal being, so long as its flame is not extinguished.”
Erebos’s epithet, the Unquenchable Flame of Calamity, was known even to later generations.
However, it was only known that extinguishing the flame of Erebos, as described by posterity, was extremely difficult.
But to think that flame was truly an immortal flame!
“Then how did the Great Heroes save the world?”
Lil raised her hand and asked.
“Even the Flame of Calamity has a natural enemy.”
Rian smiled faintly.
“Purity.”
“Purity?”
“It refers to one born with incomparably clear mana. One who possesses the attribute of Purity can become anything. And that means infinite potential.”
“Does that mean… Kyle?”
“Yes. The Hero of the Beginning possessed that pure mana attribute. He is the only natural enemy in this world who can stand against the Flame of Calamity.”
At Rian's words, the students nodded.
If so, they could understand why the Heroes of the Dawn had been unable to vanquish Erebos.
“Wait.”
Mm-hmm! Iliana, who had been nodding, suddenly froze.
“Kyle was an All-Class, wasn’t he?”
Realizing this, Iliana whipped her head around in surprise.
It wasn't just Iliana.
Before long, everyone was staring at one place.
The unprecedented All-Class.
“That is correct.”
Rian smiled brightly.
“He possesses the same pure mana attribute as the Hero of the Beginning. In other words, he was born with the destiny to save this world.”