Chapter 64

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Episode 14 - Second Form of Inverted Heaven [1]

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Monday morning.

Upon arriving at the classroom, I quickly looked for my seat.

After sitting down, I sank into my thoughts.

’Next week, Part Three of Chapter One begins, and I have already mastered the first form of Inverted Heaven.’

I’ve already taken that mastery to its limit, so I could begin with the second form.

Anyway, even though I didn’t know exactly what the second form was like, my master said it would be helpful to me.

Because I will enter the Memory Gate of the Fallen Maiden.

My master naturally knew about that Memory Gate and said it would be of great help.

’Part Three will be next Monday, so I still have time.’

Anyway, I waited for Professor Gregory to arrive.

During that time, Rinna had arrived and sat beside me.

"Don’t you feel tired after working at the orphanage yesterday?"

I shook my head slightly.

"Not really, but you really do get tired just from washing some clothes, especially children’s clothes."

Since they were children’s clothes, they were smaller, though, of course, dirtier.

"That’s not the point."

I shrugged, ignoring her.

"Well, whatever you say."

I sighed, and after a while, Professor Gregory entered the classroom.

I was looking forward to this class for a particular reason.

’I don’t really know much about the Five Lords of the Abyss, and I also need to learn everything I can about the Power of Chaos.’

To be honest, I was never interested in creating a story about the Five Lords of the Abyss when I still saw this world as a game.

And as for the Power of Chaos, it is simply explained as the opposite of mana and a way to become strong quickly without needing talent.

Above all, there are the properties of the Power of Chaos; so, in truth, I do not know much about it, only the basics.

That is why I had been waiting for this class since last week, when Professor Gregory talked about the Memory Gates.

Professor Gregory smiled, stood at the center of the podium, and then, without any warning, wrote on the board.

’Mhm, always straight to the point.’

Professor Gregory said:

"Lords of the Abyss."

That was probably the phrase he wrote on the board. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Then Professor Gregory turned around and clapped his hands.

The noise in the classroom ceased, and he began to speak.

"One day, more than a thousand years ago, the sky turned black, and all life on our planet, especially plants, trees, and all of nature, withered away within a matter of hours."

He began walking in circles while placing his hands behind his back.

"And from the sky, as if some kind of colossal portal had opened across the entire planet, creatures appeared that we now call Demonic Beasts, demonic creatures, abyssal monsters, and demons."

He paused to catch his breath before continuing.

"These creatures come from a parallel world called the World of Abyss. As you can see, no one knows why they never returned, what kind of creatures and dangers exist there, we also do not know, but..."

He paused for a second, and his expression turned serious.

"From that world emerged five entities that led legions of creatures into our world. We simply know these five beings as the Five Lords of the Abyss, but they called themselves by titles."

Professor Gregory wrote on the board.

"Their titles are: Lord of Chaos, Lord of Deception, Angel of Disaster, Apostle of Rest, and the strongest among them, the Sovereign of the End."

When he finished writing on the board, he turned around and asked:

"Does anyone know which of the Five Swords defeated one of the Five Lords of the Abyss?"

A cadet, probably from a high-ranking noble house, answered:

"The Lord of Chaos and the Lord of Deception were defeated by the Immortal King, Temar Lunovar, and White Moon, Luna Silvermoon. The Angel of Disaster was defeated by two people together: the King of Ten Thousand Men, Karnak Everbright, and White Moon, Luna Silvermoon."

Professor Gregory nodded.

"And what about the two strongest Lords of the Abyss?"

The cadet answered without hesitation:

"The Apostle of Rest was defeated by the Fifth Sword. Their name and title are unknown, but it is known that they were the most mysterious among the Five Swords. And the one who defeated the Sovereign of the End was Eternal Night, Alice Von Everblack."

Professor Gregory nodded calmly. Meanwhile, inside my head:

〖Arghhh! Not that damn nickname again. Why did they give me that nickname? Damn bastards.〗

"..."

Ignoring my master’s complaints, I continued focusing on Professor Gregory’s words.

He then continued.

"Well, it seems some of you know about the history that changed our world as it is today. So, next question: why did the Five Lords of the Abyss come to our world?"

At this question, the only person who raised her hand was Clana.

Professor Gregory nodded, and Clana answered.

"The only thing known, according to the records left behind by the Five Swords and some information found within the Memory Gates, is that the Five Lords of the Abyss came with the goal of reclaiming what was lost. It is unknown what they were referring to, since before they appeared, there had never been any record of their existence."

Professor Gregory then asked,

"So, do you believe that the Five Lords of the Abyss are truly the only beings in the World of Abyss?"

Clana remained silent for a moment and was about to say something when Lumina answered.

"They are not the only ones. If we humans, in the past, had more than ten individuals who reached 11 Stars, then there shouldn’t be only Five Lords of the Abyss, or at the very least, there should be an even more powerful being."

Some cadets looked at Lumina in surprise, since Lumina had never answered any of the professors’ questions before.

So this reaction was natural. In any case, Professor Gregory asked,

"And why do you think that, Cadet Lumina?"

Lumina shrugged.

"It’s just a hypothesis, nothing more."

Professor Gregory nodded and did not ask anything further; then he continued speaking.

"Alright, then. Our world has gods, both good and evil. Therefore, the World of Abyss should also have gods."

A cadet asked in confusion,

"Professor, aren’t the Evil Gods from the World of Abyss?"

Professor Gregory shook his head.

"No. The Evil Gods have always existed, even before we knew about the World of Abyss, so in theory, they are not from the Abyss."

Professor Gregory shrugged, then sighed and said.

"In any case, over the last few centuries, there have been expeditions into the World of Abyss, but no one has returned alive. The reason is unknown, or perhaps they simply can no longer return, because the Abyss cannot enter our world at this moment."

At his final words, several thoughts crossed my mind.

I know the Abyss cannot come into this world because of the sacrifice of nearly the entire world to seal the entrance; however, humans or any other race can freely enter the World of Abyss, but the Abyss itself cannot.

Because of this seal, which is currently guarded by two 10-Star beings, the Abyss never returned to this world.

In any case, I more or less know the reason why no one returns from that world.

’It’s simply because there are too many horrors there; the weakest beings are Class 7, and there are even dozens of Class 10s.’

Meanwhile, in this world, there are only a handful of 10-Stars, and they can be counted on one hand.

Honestly, this world is on the verge of collapse if the seal is broken.

So the only extinction-level threat to this planet is the World of Abyss itself.

’I can already imagine what would happen if the World of Dream could also invade this world.’

In theory, it would not only mean the extinction of the world, but the destruction of the entire planet.

Because of the words of certain Specters of Dream, who claim that the World of Dream is even more dangerous than the World of Abyss.

Statistically speaking, the World of Abyss does not even come close to the World of Dream.

Finally, I turned my attention back to Professor Gregory.

"Anyway, to this day, no one has ever managed to discover what the World of Abyss is truly like or how it looks, but it is known that only the Power of Chaos exists there."

Professor Gregory sighed and then changed the subject.

"Well, we still have two hours of class, so how about we add villains to the discussion: how they are born and, lastly, the topic of the Power of Chaos?"

The cadets quickly nodded.

Most of them were probably interested in learning more about how a villain is born.

And their reaction was understandable.

Many people were interested in knowing exactly how a human becomes a villain and uses a power that comes from another world.

Seeing this, Professor Gregory smiled and explained.

"Well then, let’s start from the beginning: since when have villains existed?"

One cadet answered without hesitation.

"About ten years after the end of the war against the Abyss."

Professor Gregory nodded and added.

"That’s right, but it is also known that they existed even before the war began, since the invasion of the Abyss was divided into three calamities."

He raised one finger and said,

"The first calamity was the black sky and the spread of the Power of Chaos across the entire world, killing nature and countless living beings."

He raised a second finger and said,

"The second calamity was the arrival of the creatures from the World of Abyss and the evolution of the monsters that already existed in our world into demonic beings."

Finally, he raised his last finger.

"And the third calamity was the beginning of the war and the rise of the Five Lords of the Abyss. From the first to the third calamity, at least five hundred years passed; five hundred years beneath a black sky, and during that time all kinds of heroes emerged, including the first being from our world to reach 11 Stars: the Fallen Maiden."

Then he turned around and wrote on the board.

"So now then, how are villains born?"