Chapter 83: The Truth About Devils.

"The world was once far more vast than it is today but it was forever changed after the Gods defeated the Calamities. What those Calamities were and how the Gods managed to save us, is a topic many of you might already find fascinating."

A dwarf with a long white beard and round glasses spoke from the front of the World History and Myths classroom.

"And this class, World History and Myths, is dedicated to learning exactly that but since this is our very first lecture, we will keep things light for today."

He adjusted his glasses.

"Long ago, there were many Gods but even among them, only the Four Great Gods cared enough about us mortals to save us. While others rampaged even after defeating calamities, these four were the only ones who saved us and created the barrier of Crimson Mist to protect us."

"These Four Great Gods are the ones worshipped by the majority of people across the Three Continents. We call them the Orthodox Gods. Beneath them serve countless lesser deities, whom we know as Angels."

His gaze swept across the classroom.

"The followers of the Goddess of Love and Passion established her Church upon the continent of Veloria while her most devoted follower, Emperor Auremont, united all races beneath the banner of the Holy Empire under her divine command."

At those words, everyone’s eyes instinctively drifted toward Aurelion and Seles, the descendants of the said person.

"Meanwhile, the God of Battle claimed dominion over Kharos, the Land of Chaos, guiding the Giant warriors toward honour and order."

"And finally, the largest continent, Sylvara, home to countless kingdoms and empires, was divided between the faiths of the God of Wisdom and the Goddess of Earth."

"Most of you have likely learned this much already, having grown up in noble households that worship one of the Orthodox Gods..."

The dwarf paused, letting his gaze sweep across the classroom.

"But were those Four Great Gods the only ones left behind within the Barrier of Crimson Mist?"

His warm tone encouraged participation and several overzealous students immediately raised their hands.

He pointed toward one of them, a giant with a muscular build and a circular sigil of the God of Battle hanging around his neck.

The giant rose to his feet without hesitation.

"No, sir. Many malicious beings remained behind alongside the Orthodox Gods, seeking to corrupt their followers. We call them the Unorthodox Gods and the races that worship them are collectively known as Demons. This includes many malevolent races such as imps, succubi, incubi, vampires, and many others and our alliance had been at war against them for many years."

"Very good."

The dwarf praised him as though he had answered an exceptionally difficult question, even though it was something most noble children had been taught since childhood.

"But... there exists another faction whose very existence is kept secret, even from most noble children for the sake of their safety."

His expression grew solemn.

"Beings so vile that uttering their name in broad daylight is considered dangerous. Beings that do not follow the world’s conventional ranking system, whose power depends entirely upon the influence they hold over the minds of mortals."

A wave of surprise spread through the classroom.

None of them had ever heard of such a thing.

Every student present was a high noble, with the sole exception of Lily but even they looked utterly bewildered as whispers began to ripple through the room.

"Devils."

It was Aurelion as the word slipped from his lips almost instinctively. Everyone’s attention turned toward him for the second time since the class had begun.

"Correct."

The dwarf didn’t seem surprised as he continued his explanation.

"If the Gods are the light the world permits to exist, then the Devils are the darkness that exists just as naturally. Some are no stronger than a housefly, while others have reached heights comparable to divinity itself."

"Their actions are unpredictable and their intentions are even more malicious than those of the Unorthodox Gods. The reason their existence and even their names, are kept secret is because merely knowing of them can allow them to influence a person’s mind."

A wave of gasps spread across the classroom.

"What about now, sir?" One of the students asked immediately. "Didn’t we just learn about them? What if they influence us now?"

The dwarf replied with a knowing smile.

"Worry not. Since the Arcanum is considered a neutral ground, it is protected by multiple layers of divine authority from all four Gods. Piercing those protections is considered nearly impossible. That is precisely why the existence of Devils is taught only within these walls."

"This class, World History and Myths, is not merely about the history of our world and the legends surrounding it. I will also teach you about the Devils that have been identified throughout history and, more importantly, how to safeguard yourselves against them."

"But how are we supposed to protect ourselves against Devils if some of them are as powerful as Gods, sir?"

"If they are that strong... why haven’t they destroyed the world already?"

Two students spoke almost at the same time.

Professor Hoopra smiled.

"Well, no matter how powerful a Devil becomes, it does not follow the world’s conventional system of strength and because of that, neither do its abilities."

"Every Devil possesses flaws. No matter how overwhelming its power may seem, it cannot simply kill or destroy at will. Instead, it relies on deception, manipulation and the unique abilities it possesses."

He let the words sink in before continuing.

"If you can uncover the nature of its power and see through its tricks... then even the weakest among you may survive."

He smiled faintly.

"And perhaps... even defeat it. If you are blessed with the divinity of the Gods, it may become even easier in certain cases, as divine power naturally opposes the chaotic energy wielded by Devils."

"According to many of the brightest researchers, even the phenomenon of dungeons and towers are created by the same Chaos energy which nurtures devils."

His expression grew noticeably colder.

"In fact, our academy keeps a number of live Devils solely for the purpose of training and research for its students. As first-years, you will one day face them yourselves."

His gaze swept across the classroom, lingering on each student for a brief moment.

"My duty is to prepare you for that inevitable day."

"But that day is still far away so don’t get scared already."

He chuckled.

"So, cheer up."

***

[Zenith’s POV]

Meanwhile, a yawn escaped my lips for what had to be the hundredth time since the class had begun.

It was the second mandatory subject added to our curriculum, alongside Mana Application.

Honestly, most of what the professor was saying was bullshit, stories crafted by those narcissistic Gods and repeated by their blind devotees.

And even the parts that were technically true were only half-truths. The Gods had made sure to hide the rest from their followers.

First of all, like hell those self-righteous bastards were some natural existence because they had all been mortals once.

They had simply grown powerful enough to call themselves Gods.

As for Devils...

Well, I honestly didn’t know much about them either. Everything I knew came from what my master had told me in my previous life.

And her advice had been simple.

Stay the hell away from those insufferable constructs of nature.

Unlike the Gods, Devils were actually a natural existence but how they came to exist, I didn’t have even the faintest idea.

But what I did know about were the Demons.

The Orthodox Alliance liked to label every race that followed the Unorthodox or even the long-dead Gods as Demons, branding them all as enemies.

When, in reality, they weren’t the monstrous, malevolent beings the Orthodox Alliance made them out to be.

They were people.

People with different beliefs.

Hell, if my master had been born in this backwater corner of the First Ring of the Great Sea, she would have been branded one of them too.

But naturally, if I stood up right now and said the Demons weren’t the real threat, that everyone should be worrying about the Devils quietly corrupting society from the shadows instead...

Yeah.

They would call me a lunatic and if they were feeling particularly righteous, they would probably call me a heretic and hang me for it.

Soon enough, Professor Hoopra’s class came to an end and he left after assigning homework to everyone.

Today marked the final weekday of our second week at the academy.

It was also the last day to finalize our electives before Ruan chewed each and every one of us out over it.

I had already wandered through countless elective listings and found quite a few that interested me.

Honestly, though...

There were just too many to choose from.

I could have simply picked whatever Lily chose but that would have defeated the entire purpose behind my regression.

...To enjoy my life to the fullest.

I still wanted to make Lily the happiest woman alive, but just not by making her the sole purpose of mine.

Still, as I thought about it, my gaze drifted toward Lily’s seat but unfortunately she wasn’t there as she had left the moment Hoopra left.

Normally, I would have gone after her and pestered her some more but, I already had an appointment with someone else today.

Alya von Ruinbringer.

Since all the mandatory classes for the day were over for now, it was finally time to collect the reward she owed me.