After the first week passed, I started participating in the school lessons which the church offered to the children. With nothing to do until I make a plan in order to fight back the heroes, I might as well learn all I can from the humans. Nobody seem to suspect me yet that I am the Supreme Evils daughter. Maybe they just think that my black horns are just a rare color of the ram type of beast men?
Most of the stuff they started teaching us now do I already know. But the history and religion topics are new to me! Today they are teaching us about the Eternal Demon Wars.
At the desk in front of stand an elderly human man in a priest robe. His most defining feature are his spectacles which rest on his beak like nose. On the desk in front of him lies a large old book with many bookmarks in it, and behind him is a blackboard which still got things written on it from before.
He corrects his spectacles before talking to us.
"Today’s lesson is about the Eternal Demon Wars which has been a reoccurring event during all of our recorded history.
Ever since man and beast kind formed their first villages so has demons from the other world been present. For years they fought against the demons without any end in sight, but then a miracle happened. With the guidance of the first gods was the first cities and kingdoms formed.
In the safety of cities prospered the kingdoms and became strong enough to finally push out the demons from the lands. With the great advances in magic at the same was the first world barrier constructed which held the demons back.
But alas, the barrier was not without its faults. Every three hundred years becomes the presence on the other side strong enough to overpower it, which lets demons roam free within the lands again. The gods feeling responsible for man and beast kind then lent out their hand again.
The helping hand from the gods had the form of exceptional individuals which we these days now call heroes. By summoning them from their realms they has got the potential to grow extremely powerful. And because they can't truly be killed they will persist in their mission until the Supreme Evil is slain."
At the point I heard the dreaded H-word I snap my pen in a fit of anger. I then grunt as I look at the pen remains. Terion looks at me with worry in his eyes. He then leans next to me and whispers.
"Oi, Biali. How are ya feelin'?"
"It's nothing..."
"Ya looked real upset for a second there..."
"Never mind." I sigh and concentrate on the lesson again. The teacher now started drawing a triangle on the blackboard with three circles merging with it on the sides. Looks like a misshapen flower to me.
"This triangle represents the realm of Ypterra in which the Supreme Evil and its minions reside in. Demons become stronger the closer they are to the castle in the middle. Aside from that so does Ypterra also work as a hub for the three worlds connected to it." He then waves his stick around the triangle.
"Here can we see the three known worlds which are connected to Ypterra: Terra which we reside in, Grand Heaven where divine races exist and finally The Eleven Hells from where demons and devils live in." The teacher then puts the stick in both his hands and looks at us.
"For as long as a Supreme Evil exists, the demon wars will exist as well. Despite the help of heroes, this cycle of three hundred years of peace, and then total war has not been able to be broken." He then sighs and looks down at the floor.
"Even the heroes are not perfect." He then looks up at us again and continues: "Many fall into temptation to engage in territorial wars with other guilds. With this inter-factional conflict the demise of the Supreme Evil is delayed." He then points his stick at us.
"The longest time which the demise of the Supreme Evil has been delayed is twenty years. At that point the invasion of demons became nearly unbearable. Even the gods themselves personally intervened at great costs of their own powers.
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Even now the gods are recovering from their loss." The teacher then looks out the stained glass window behind us as he puts his stick behind him.
"This concludes the introduction of the demon wars."
I lie down my head on the desk with only my right arm holding my head up by the forehead. This truly gave me a lot to think about. I feel a slight ache in my head now as I try to make sense of this new information.
Is what the teacher is saying true?
But if what they say is true... Then it makes sense to why they want us... Dead... No, I do not accept that answer! I clench my free fist and just feel like I want to scream, but then Terion put his hands around it.
I look at him and feel soothed. I sigh and give him a conflicted look.
"Thanks Terion..." I say to him, but he just give me his usual smile which I has started to like for some reason.
"Biali, if ya are explodin' now, then how will ya ever get the chance to try that cotton candy?" What kind of response is that? I just started laughing at him.
He sure knows how to make me laugh. I should thank him again for preventing me from causing a scene here. My family and heroes are very touchy subjects for me. For different reasons.
Assuming what they say is true then I can understand why they think that attacking my family completely unprovoked is the solution. But what if there is another way? Another way...
I still feel how Terion is wrapping his hands around my hand. As I look toward the teacher again I pull out my hand out of his warm palms. The teacher then coughs and starts talking again.
"According to the gods the Supreme Evil is not yet defeated." My ears perk up when I hear that.
"While it usually takes about twenty to thirty years to defeat the evil. It is the first time in recorded history that the Supreme Evil survived against an attack with overwhelming odds. Despite being blessed by the gods, each member in the raid perished." I feel how my mouth just gapes open. This feels eerily familiar, and I start cold sweating.
"Let this be a lesson for you all; being blessed by the gods is not a guarantee that you will succeed. In the end what matters is what you can do, not what you are given."
Nemesis of Heroes
Effect: Divine protections of Heroes can be disrupted by you.
Divine protections can be disrupted by you.
It starts making sense now of what happened home in the castle throne room. When my daddy cast that spell the heroes were confident that they would not be affected. But it worked, and they died and turned into motes of light. I now nervously look at Terion which looks worried over me again in return. The teacher just continues his ranting.
"In the past the Supreme Evil gets vanquished as soon as their presence gets known. Their age in human years is around three hundred and thirty by then. With the intervention of the gods this menace has never let been too long lived, but these times it is unusual." I look down into my school bench and put my forehead between my palms.
What is going on? Was my daddy supposed to die back at the throne room? The more I listen to this, the less I like it.
"Do not be worried; the gods heard the pleas from the heroes and are now readying them for a second assault. This time they assure it will be successful." I start panicking and I feel how Terion grabs me by my shoulders.
I need to get back. Bring me back. Get me back there. I go back.
I must get back.
But how?
I feel how my head is spinning as my thoughts are in a chaotic mess.
"Oi' teach', I think Biali is feelin' ill. I'll take her to her room, A'ight?" Says Terion in his usual confident tone as he drags me out of the classroom. I do not pay attention at all as he drags me to my room.
The world is unfair! Life is unfair! Why do the heroes get such special treatment by the gods and we not!? Also how am I supposed to get back to daddy and mommy again!? I curse yet again at my ineptness.
Suddenly I am hugged by Terion and I feel how my face is buried in his chest as I am at the point of yet another emotional outburst.
"What's the matter, Biali? Feeling sick? Why are ya eyes misty?" Says Terion as he cradles my head around his arms. This reminds me of the times my daddy hugged me while I was sad or upset. A comforting feeling. I sniffle a bit, but I feel a lot better now.
"...bad memories..." I quietly say while still in his care. Terion is a really good friend whom cares for me.
He returns me back to my room and I rest there for a while. Then the rest of the day went as normal. I must have a plan. I must acquire power. I must do... A lot.
Wait, the aptitude test!
The aptitude test, yes. That is my best bet for now. If I show my talent as a magician, then I can enroll in the academy. And I can grow my magical powers right in the middle of the heroes!
The heroes won't wait, so I can't bide my time here forever. At least I got something resembling a plan now.