Chapter 548

Book 1 Chapter 548

548.

Following the unexpected announcement, every single student could only gape at Lian in utter bewilderment.

These youth of Rumerun, despite their diverse experiences as prospective heroes, had never once come across a young girl who abruptly announced herself to be a divine entity.

Under normal circumstances, they would have likely written her off as an eccentric or someone lacking sanity.

However, Mel was standing right behind Lian.

There was not a single Rumerun student who failed to recognize Mel as the Dragon Lord.

The only reason they refrained from speaking up was because he steadfastly denied being that specific individual.

Yet, everyone was well aware of who he truly was.

And this little girl had arrived in the company of none other than Mel.

Brushing her off as merely a delusional youngster was impossible, given that Mel’s presence seemed to serve as a direct validation of Lian’s claims.

“But wait, a literal deity? Is that even possible?”

“Exactly, how can that be?”

Chelsea and Karl both looked completely skeptical.

The idea that a divinity, who was supposed to have disappeared from the mortal realm following the conclusion of the Era of Calamity, would suddenly show up out of nowhere was incredibly difficult to swallow.

Regardless of her association with the Dragon Lord.

Doubting the truth of Lian’s words, Chelsea and Karl turned their heads to check the reaction of Leo, who was seated beside them.

And seeing the absolute gravity on Leo’s face, they felt even more perplexed.

Karl leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone to Leo.

“Hey, Leo. Don’t tell me… this is actually real?”

When Leo gave a faint, affirmative nod, Chelsea and Karl’s jaws dropped in sheer shock.

‘A true divinity?’

Shouldn’t a divine being possess all-knowing and all-powerful traits?

Their mental image of a supreme entity was typically one of absolute grandeur that would compel anyone to kneel in reverence.

Yet, the way Lian looked did not match those expectations at all.

Granted, her features were astonishingly lovely.

To be precise, she possessed a flawless, exquisite countenance.

That trait by itself was enough to draw the gaze of everyone in the room.

Even so, she lacked any aura of sacredness or the grandeur expected of an object of devotion.

“Is that just how ‘God Lian’ happens to be? Maybe she is a juvenile among deities, considering how young she looks.”

“That’s a possibility.”

“Physical form signifies nothing to entities like them,” Leo remarked casually. “Time and age hold no relevance for deities. If she chose to look like this, it is simply because she likes it that way.”

“Oh…”

“Furthermore, divine beings are remarkably useless.”

“Useless? Historical texts explicitly describe them as all-powerful and all-knowing, don’t they? Were those records incorrect?” Chelsea questioned, looking utterly confused.

“They do possess total knowledge and power, yes. However, they are incapable of using those vast capabilities to influence the physical world.”

“In that case, why did the ancient deities even bother coming down to our world?” Karl inquired, sounding stunned.

To this day, historical artifacts and texts dating back to the Age of Gods, which occurred before the Era of Calamity, remain a major focus of ongoing academic study.

It was a fascinating field of inquiry.

While they were absent today, divine entities undoubtedly walked the earth in those bygone times.

Throughout the Age of Gods, humanity offered them devotion, and through that faith, the higher beings exercised immense power over human affairs.

Because of this, historians focusing on the Age of Gods concluded that these beings fostered that era primarily to expand their dominion.

Leo provided a straightforward reply to Karl’s inquiry.

“Simply because they had nothing better to do.”

“Pardon?”

“They were utterly without entertainment in their own realm, so out of pure boredom, they descended into the human world.”

Hearing such an unimaginable explanation left Karl and Chelsea completely open-mouthed.

Living in modern times, it was only natural for people to harbor romanticized views regarding the divine.

‘Fantasies exist to be shattered. That is simply a part of reaching maturity.’

Wearing a knowing, slightly playful smirk, Leo observed Lian.

‘Is she about to recount the events we discussed in the past?’

“To begin with, there is a tale I must share with everyone,” Lian announced.

All traces of her previous playfulness vanished from her features.

Observing this sudden shift, the assembled Rumerun students held their breath.

A commanding, majestic presence radiated from Lian, replacing the youthful giggles she had displayed just moments earlier.

Even if her origins were entirely a mystery, at this very instant, her sheer aura completely dominated the room of future heroes.

“The account I am going to share concerns the definitive clash from 5000 years ago, the conflict that determined the destiny of this entire realm.”

The monumental clash that sealed the world’s fate five millennia in the past!

Not a single person present failed to grasp the significance of those words.

‘The ultimate confrontation of the Great Heroes…!’

This was a narrative completely absent from the Hero Records, missing from any official text.

It existed purely as an oral tradition handed down through generations.

While Mel, the Dragon Lord, had recently shed some light on the general occurrence, the specific details had remained shrouded in mystery.

While the audience waited in tense silence, Lian, whose overpowering presence had just captivated everyone, reached into her pocket. She pulled out items and placed small figures representing the Great Heroes onto the digits of her left hand.

Sliding another figure representing Erebus onto her right hand, she commenced a simple, juvenile performance.

“A long, long time ago, in an ancient era, there existed the Primeval Abomination alongside the Five Great Heroes.”

“At last! Remaining completely isolated, the Hero of Beginnings confronted the Primeval Abomination with the destiny of existence resting entirely on his shoulders! Alone, he struck down this horrific entity, a feat that even divine beings were powerless to achieve! Yet, showing utter ingratitude, society erased the grand deeds of the Hero of Beginnings from memory! What a tragedy!”

Once the small performance concluded, Lian proceeded to enthusiastically laud Kyle with immense fervor.

“While other species might be ignorant, you all belong to humanity! Which champion should humankind hold in the highest esteem and devotion?!”

Lian opened her arms wide to emphasize her point.

“I am speaking of Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings! It is your duty to honor and venerate Kyle, who accomplished triumphs that ordinary deities could never match! As prospective champions, you ought to dedicate yourselves to Kyle, the origin of everything! And yet, within this world, even with such a magnificent figure in history, there are naive youths who maintain romantic notions about pointless entities like deities! I am certain there are individuals like that right here!”

‘We certainly used to. However, if your claims of divinity are genuine, any such notions have been thoroughly demolished today.’

A few of the Rumerun students muttered quietly to themselves.

“Now, a pop quiz! How should we define Kyle?”

As Lian posed the question with an intense, wide-eyed gaze, the Rumerun students exchanged glances.

Moments later, a single hand went up hesitantly.

It belonged to Illiana.

“Go ahead and speak, young lady.”

“Kyle surpasses the divine?”

“Precisely. A magnificent response, young lady.”

Lian gave an approving nod.

“Make sure you carry the memory of this instruction forward. Keep in mind that Kyle represents an existence so sublime that ordinary deities fail in comparison. Do not let this slip from your minds.”

“Just how long is she going to continue preaching like this?”

“Is her actual goal to establish a new cult?”

Observing Lian’s unceasing adulation, Chelsea and Karl muttered to one another, clearly exasperated.

“It is likely you are curious as to why my admiration for the Hero of Beginnings runs so deep.”

A gentle smile appeared on Lian’s lips.

“The explanation is straightforward. It is because he alone possessed the capability to rescue creation.”

Lian swept her gaze across the gathered youth.

“Aspiring champions who carry the heritage of Rumerun. Are you aware that three millennia ago, Rumerun sought me out personally?”

Hearing this, a wave of whispers rippled through the Rumerun students.

“Three thousand years in the past… does that mean the era of the Calamity’s Reappearance?”

When Chloe signaled with her hand to inquire, Lian gave an affirmative nod.

“Correct. To be more exact, it occurred right after the conclusion of the Calamity’s Reappearance that is recorded in your histories.”

“The Calamity’s Reappearance that we are familiar with?”

Chloe looked entirely perplexed.

Noticing Chloe’s confusion, Lian stated:

“I shall reveal to you the hidden reality of this world—a secret that has been guarded exclusively by the heirs of the King of Wisdom and the bloodline of Rodia, the Dragon of Genesis, throughout the last three millennia.”

Instinctively, the eyes of the Rumerun students shifted toward Mel.

“The event known as the Calamity’s Reappearance has never actually concluded.”

For a brief moment, the Rumerun students struggled to process the weight of Lian’s statement.

Facing the stunned audience, Lian went on in a tranquil voice.

“The portion of Erebus that manifested during the Calamity’s Reappearance three thousand years ago remains unvanquished to this day.”

“What?!”

“How can that be…?!”

Outcries of absolute astonishment rang out across the room.

Disregarding the uproar, Lian pressed on.

“Furthermore, the Heroes of Genesis continue to live even now.”

Following this revelation, everyone present stared in wide-eyed disbelief.

“Three millennia ago, a mortal managed to find the path to my home. That individual was Rumerun. He came to me seeking counsel, looking for a method to destroy the endlessly regenerating splinters of Erebus.”

Lian maintained a perfectly stoic countenance as she unveiled the secret history of the world.

“My answer to him was that destroying the Primeval Evil was an impossibility at that time. However, a method existed to bind it.”

Lian tilted her gaze upward, focusing on the likeness of Rumerun mounted on the wall of the grand chamber.

She was referring to the chronicle of how the Heroes of Genesis managed to trap Erebus three thousand years before.

The revelation was utterly staggering.

The realization that the Heroes of Genesis had lacked the capacity to completely destroy Erebus using their own strength.

The hidden reality that the reviving pieces of Erebus and the Heroes of Genesis remained locked in an eternal combat.

As well as the disclosure that Erebus was the sole cause behind the damage to the Hero Records three millennia ago.

It felt like an impossible tale to accept.

Nevertheless, certain individuals present had already seen firsthand evidence confirming the validity of this account.

“Lady Elena. In that case, the manifestation of Erebus we defeated within Luna’s domain must have been…”

“It appears to have been a remnant of that initial portion,” Elena replied, her expression tightening alongside Lunia’s.

“Does that imply the Seirun who manifested in Seirun during that incident… was the genuine person?!”

Eiran pressed her hands to her lips, whispering in a shaky, unstable tone.

Celia signaled to speak by raising her arm.

“I wish to ask something! Did the Heroes of Genesis truly lack the strength required to extinguish the Flame of Calamity?”

“The individual power of the Heroes of Genesis vastly exceeds your preconceptions. From the dawn of time, the number of beings superior to them can be counted on a single hand. Even the Primeval Abomination, even when divided into fragments, was incapable of overpowering the Heroes of Genesis. This balance is the sole reason our world remains intact today.”

“If that is the case, what forced them to confine it inside the Hero Records?”

Observing Chloe’s perplexed look, Lian gave her answer.

“Even with the combined efforts of the King of Wisdom, the Progenitor of the Nebula, the Valiant One, and the God’s Blacksmith, destroying the Primeval Abomination entirely remained out of reach. That monstrosity possesses absolute immortality so long as its spark remains alive.”

The fact that Erebus bore the title of the ‘Unextinguishable Flame of Calamity’ was common knowledge even to modern societies.

Yet, younger generations had always assumed the title simply meant that putting out Erebus’s spark was an immensely challenging task.

No one had realized that the fire was literally deathless.

“In that case, by what means did the Great Heroes manage to preserve our world?” Lil asked, raising her hand.

“Even an entity like the Flame of Calamity has a perfect counter,” Lian remarked with a subtle smile.

“Purity.”

“What do you mean by Purity?”

“It refers to an individual gifted from birth with an exceptionally clear form of mana. A person possessing the quality of Purity holds the capacity to transform into any form, which represents boundless potential.”

“Are you referring to… Kyle?”

“Correct. The Hero of Beginnings was endowed with that specific pure mana trait. He stands as the singular existence in this realm capable of directly countering the Flame of Calamity.”

Hearing Lian’s explanation, the students nodded in understanding.

With this context, the inability of the Heroes of Genesis to completely eliminate Erebus became logical.

“Hold on a moment.”

Illiana, who had been bobbing her head in agreement, suddenly froze.

“Kyle held the status of an All-Class, correct?”

As that connection formed in her mind, Illiana turned her head sharply in astonishment.

She wasn’t the only one to make the realization.

In an instant, every gaze in the room shifted toward a single individual.

The one who stood as the unparalleled All-Class.

“Precisely,” Lian murmured with a soft smile.

“He shares the identical Purity mana trait that belonged to the Hero of Beginnings. To put it simply, he is the one fated to deliver this world from destruction.”