LHAHS Chapter 548
At the sudden declaration, the entire student body stared blankly at Rian.
Although they were Lumene students and hero candidates who had experienced all sorts of things, it was the first time they had met a child who suddenly claimed to be a god.
Normally, they might have dismissed him as someone mentally unsound, but Mel stood behind Rian.
Currently, there wasn't a single Lumene student who didn't know Mel was the Dragon Queen. They just kept quiet about it because Mel herself denied it.
Since this child accompanied her, it felt as if Mel was guaranteeing Rian's status, making it hard to simply dismiss him as a nutjob.
"No, but still, a god? Does that even make sense?"
"Right?"
Chelsea and Carl wore expressions of disbelief. The idea that a god, beings who vanished from the surface world after the end of the Age of Calamity, would suddenly appear wasn't something easily believed, even if he came with the Dragon Queen.
Chelsea and Carl, doubting Rian's identity, glanced back at Leo sitting between them. Noticing Leo's serious expression, however, they went blank.
Carl whispered to Leo, "Hey, Leo. Don't tell me… is it real?"
When Leo gave a slight nod, Chelsea and Carl's mouths gaped open.
A god? Weren't gods supposed to be omnipotent beings?
The image of an absolute ruler who naturally made onlookers bow their heads was strong.
Rian's appearance, however, was different from what they imagined. Of course, he had a startlingly beautiful face, literally a perfectly sculpted visage. That alone drew the attention of everyone around.
He didn't exude a feeling of divinity or seem like a being demanding worship, though.
"Is it just this god named Rian? Since he looks young, maybe he's one of the younger gods?"
"Could be."
"External appearance doesn't mean much to the god race." Leo explained listlessly. "Age is meaningless to gods. If he looks like that, it's purely a matter of taste."
"Ah…"
"Besides, gods are surprisingly incompetent."
"Incompetent? But the texts clearly say they're omnipotent? Was that a lie?" Chelsea asked with a bewildered face.
"They are omnipotent. It's just that they can't affect the surface world with that omnipotent power."
"Then what on earth was the reason the gods of the past came down to the surface?" Carl asked, bewildered.
Research on the ruins and literature from the Age of the Gods, before the Age of Calamity, was still actively ongoing. It was a fascinating research topic.
Though not now, gods certainly existed in the distant past. During the Age of the Gods, people worshipped the gods, and based on that worship, the gods exerted great influence on the surface.
Because of this, scholars researching the Age of the Gods believed the gods guided that era to increase their own influence.
Leo answered Carl's question nonchalantly, "Out of boredom."
"What?"
"They had nothing to do in the divine realm and were bored, so they crawled down to the surface."
Carl and Chelsea gaped at the unimaginable answer.
Leo shook his head. From the perspective of those living now, it was natural to harbor illusions about gods.
Illusions are meant to be broken. That's how everyone becomes an adult.
Leo looked towards Rian, who was wearing a mischievous expression.
Is he planning to talk about what we discussed back then?
"First, there is a story I must tell you." Rian's expression vanished.
The Lumene students held their breaths.
An unbelievable charisma was radiating from Rian, who had been laughing foolishly just moments before. Though he was an unknown entity, in this moment, he easily overwhelmed all the hero candidates.
"The story I will convey to you concerns the final battle 5000 years ago, upon which the fate of the surface world hinged."
The battle that decided the fate of the surface 5000 years ago!
There was no one here who didn't know what that meant.
The Great Heroes' final battle…!
A story not recorded in the Hero Record nor existing in literature. A tale passed down literally only through legend.
Although how it proceeded had recently become known through Mel, the Dragon Queen, the detailed story was unknown.
Everyone held their breath.
Rian, exuding a charisma that overwhelmed the audience, fumbled with something inside his clothes, then fitted puppets of the Great Heroes onto the five fingers of his left hand. He fitted a puppet of Erebos onto his right hand and began a childish puppet show.
"Once upon a time, long, long 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 shouldering the world! And he single-handedly subjugated this abomination that even the gods couldn't handle! But the ungrateful world forgot the achievements of the Hero of the Beginning! How deplorable must this be!"
After finishing the puppet show, Rian started praising Kyle at the top of his lungs.
"I don't know about other races, but you are humans! Who is the hero that humans must respect and worship the most?!"
Rian spread his arms wide.
"It is the Hero of the Beginning, Sir Kyle! You must worship and revere Sir Kyle, who achieved a great feat that the likes of gods could not! If you are hero candidates, you must serve Sir Kyle, the beginning of everything, well! However, even though such a great person exists in the mortal realm, there are foolish children who harbor illusions about useless beings like gods! There are surely some among you too!"
A few Lumene students muttered inwardly, there were, but if you really are a god, it feels like those illusions are going to shatter completely today.
"Question here! What kind of existence is Sir Kyle?" Rian asked with wide eyes.
The Lumene students looked at each other.
Eliana cautiously raised her hand.
"Young lady over there! Please speak!"
"Uhm, Sir Kyle is an existence greater than the gods?"
"Correct! An excellent answer, young lady." Rian nodded with satisfaction. "I hope you all never forget today's teaching. Sir Kyle is a great person, incomparable to the likes of mere gods. You must never forget that."
"How long is he planning to go on like this?"
"Is he really trying to start a religion or something?"
Chelsea and Carl muttered in weary voices, watching the endlessly praising Rian.
Rian grinned. "You must be puzzled why I worship the Hero of the Beginning like this. The reason is simple. It's because only he could save the world." He looked at the hero candidates. "Hero candidates who carry on the will of Lumene. Do you know this? The fact that 3000 years ago, Lumene came to visit me?"
The Lumene students began to murmur among themselves.
"If it was 3000 years ago… are you talking about the time of the Return of Calamity?" Chloe raised her hand and asked.
Rian nodded. "Yes. To be precise, it was after the end of the Return of Calamity as you know it."
"The Return of Calamity as we know it?" Chloe looked bewildered.
Looking at her, Rian said. "I shall tell you the truth of the world, known only to the successors of the Wise Queen and the descendants of the Dawn Dragon Rodia for the past 3000 years."
The Lumene students' gazes naturally turned towards Mel.
"The Return of Calamity is not yet over," she said.
The Lumene students blinked in confusion.
Rian continued speaking nonchalantly, "The fragment of Erebos that awakened 3000 years ago during the Return of Calamity has not yet been subjugated."
"What?"
"What does that mean…?!"
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the audience.
Rian continued, "And the Heroes of Dawn are also still alive."
Everyone's eyes widened at Rian's declaration.
Rian recounted the truth of the world with an expressionless face. "3000 years ago. There was a human who reached the place where I resided. It was Lumene. He sought me out and asked for my wisdom, specifically, a way to subjugate the endlessly resurrecting fragment of Erebos. I told him that currently, there was no way to subjugate the Primordial Abomination. However, there was a way to seal it."
Rian looked up at the portrait of Lumene hanging in the lecture hall and told the story of how, 3000 years ago, the Heroes of Dawn came to seal Erebos.
It was shocking.
The fact that the Heroes of Dawn lacked the power to subjugate Erebos. The truth that the resurrected fragment of Erebos and the Heroes of Dawn were still engaged in an endless struggle even now. And the story that the reason the Hero Record was torn 3000 years ago was because of Erebos.
It was an unbelievable story. However, there were those here who had witnessed proof that the story was true.
"Miss Elena. If he's right, then the Erebos we subjugated in Lady Luna's world was…" Lunia whispered.
Elena replied, "A fragment of the first piece… it seems."
"Then Lady Seiren, who appeared in Seiren back then… that was really her?!" Eiran covered her mouth and muttered in a trembling voice.
Celia raised her hand. "I have a question! Were the Heroes of Dawn lacking the power to subjugate Erebos?"
"No, the Heroes of Dawn are likely stronger than you imagine. Since the world began, those stronger than them are so few they can be counted on ten fingers. Even the Primordial Abomination, in a fragmented state, could never defeat the Heroes of Dawn. That is why the world is maintained as it is now."
"Then why did they have no choice but to seal Erebos within the Hero Record?" Chloe asked with a confused face.
Rian replied, "Even if the Wise Queen, the Nebula Pioneer, the Brave Hero, and the Divine Blacksmith had been present, the Primordial Abomination could not have been completely subjugated. That abomination is an eternally undying existence as long as its flame is not extinguished, and it cannot be extinguished by brute force."
Erebos's epithet being the Undying Flame of Calamity was known even to later generations. Descriptions in later eras only mentioned that extinguishing Erebos's flame was extremely difficult.
"Then how did the Great Heroes save the world?" Lily raised her hand and asked.
"Even the Flame of Calamity has a natural enemy." Rian grinned. "And that is Purity."
"Purity?"
"It refers to one born with exceptionally clear mana. One possessing the characteristic of Purity can become anything. And that means infinite possibility."
"Does that mean… Sir Kyle?"
"Yes. The Hero of the Beginning possessed that characteristic of pure mana. He is the only natural enemy in this world capable of opposing the Flame of Calamity."
The students nodded at Rian's words. If that was the case, the reason the Heroes of Dawn couldn't subjugate Erebos was also understandable.
"Wait a minute." Eliana, who had been nodding along, paused. "Sir Kyle was an All-Class, right?"
Realizing this, she turned her head sharply to stare at a certain person.
It wasn't just Eliana. Before anyone knew it, everyone was looking in one direction.
Towards the unprecedented All-Class.
"You are correct." Rian smiled faintly. "That person you're all looking at possesses the same pure mana characteristic as the Hero of the Beginning. In other words, he was born with the destiny to save this world."