Book 1 Chapter 765

765.

The place was a temple built of ice.

The temple, as if made of crystal, exuded a cold chill.

A chill so intense that an ordinary person could lose their life just by breathing it in.

Inside the temple stood figures clad in pure white robes.

Their faces were all that of beautiful, handsome individuals.

However, their pale blue skin indicated that they were not creatures of the earth, but demons.

These were the Saints and Saintesses, confidants of Nix, known as the Frost of Death.

Towards Acheron of Sorrow, the first Saint seated at the highest position, Phyrri, the third Saintess, spoke.

"Acheron. Has the Goddess fallen into a deep slumber once more?"

In response to Phyrri's question, Acheron nodded.

Phlegethon, the third Saint, slammed the armrest of his chair.

*Crash-!*

"How could that be? Was the Flame of Catastrophe not asleep?"

He then wore an expression of disbelief.

After Nix, the Frost of Death, revived not as a fragment of Erebus, the Flame of Catastrophe, but as an evil god with its own will.

The demons of Styx, who awoke to Nix's awakening, emerged from their long slumber and immediately understood one fact.

That the Flame of Catastrophe, Erebus, did not exist in this world.

Realizing this, the Saints and Saintesses of Styx were genuinely delighted, confident in the demise of Tartarus.

For reasons unknown, if Erebus, the evil god of Tartarus, was absent, there was no one to stop Nix.

Though called demons, Tartarus and Styx were enemies who had fought to destroy each other since their very birth.

The reason for Tartarus and Styx's hatred for each other was deeply connected to the desires of the evil gods they served.

Erebus, who wished to burn everything in the world, even to disappear himself.

Nix, who wished for a world frozen eternally, a world where everything stopped, and desired death in an unchanging form.

The ideologies of these two evil gods could never coexist.

As such, the demons of Tartarus and Styx, striving to fulfill their evil gods' desires, could never mix.

"I thought this time we would be able to burn and purify all those abominations!"

Phyrri, the third Saintess, shouted with a furious voice.

Phyrri's pale blue skin briefly turned orange, and the surrounding temperature began to rise sharply.

The Saints and Saintesses of Styx were equivalent to the Legion Commanders of Tartarus.

There were four Saints and four Saintesses each, and they formed pairs, leading four knightly orders.

One of the pair would lead and command the knightly order, while the other would deliver death to enemies with overwhelming power.

Among them, the third Saint and Saintess of Styx were a little special.

Phyrri, the Saintess of Fire, and Phlegethon, the Saint of Blood.

They led the Knightly Order of Purification, and the Saintess of Fire was the embodiment of their might.

Phyrri, who possessed power opposite to her master's, was tasked with burning and purifying the world's abominations.

Phlegethon, the Saint of Blood, was tasked with creating rivers of blood from the remaining ashes and flowing them with the Knightly Order of Purification.

Nix, the Frost of Death, desired a world of death frozen eternally.

And she considered a world unchanging in that state to be her masterpiece.

Therefore, before freezing the world, she wished to burn away anything she deemed not beautiful.

In accordance with this wish, the third Saint and Saintess were born.

Thus, the Knightly Order of Purification was the most hateful of Tartarus, which was an abomination in itself.

Acheron of Sorrow replied to the anger of Phlegethon and Phyrri.

"The Flame of Catastrophe is sealed. However, a Legion Commander named the Necrolord wielded his master's power."

"Hah. To be sealed and reduced to borrowing power from a creation."

"As expected of an evil god who created such hideous things. They lack any sense of dignity."

Phlegethon and Phyrri sneered.

Watching them, Lethe, the fourth Saint, spoke.

"Acheron. Has the second Saint… Cocytus of Woe awakened?"

"She has not."

The first Saintess and the fourth Saintess perished in the war against Tartarus before Styx went into slumber.

Therefore, their positions were currently vacant.

In such a situation, the second Saintess had also disappeared.

In particular, the Knightly Order of Repose, bound by the same fate as the second Saintess, was annihilated.

Lethe fell into thought.

"So? Just how great are this 'Hero Record' and these 'Heroes'?"

Phyrri asked in a bored voice.

Burning abominations.

As such, among the Saints and Saintesses, Phyrri was the one with the most destructive power.

She had burned countless enemies, and therefore, was a demon with absolute confidence in her own strength.

Because of this, she did not heed the warning of Acheron, the leader of Styx.

'No matter what, they are just a slave race.'

It was then that Phyrri revealed her sneer.

"Is this 'Hero Record' not just a record system used by the gods of the heavens? Why are you taking it so seriously?"

Phlegethon furrowed his brows.

"The second Saintess died at the hands of a human."

"Tragically, the second Saintess was weak. It is surprising that she was defeated by a slave race… but there's no law against such a thing happening, is there?"

"Before she went into slumber, the second Saintess received a blessing from the Goddess."

At Acheron's words, the atmosphere changed.

"She was granted the permission to become an 'immortal' for a brief period. Yet, she was annihilated."

"Is that even possible?"

Lethe wore an expression of disbelief.

"For mere humans to defeat someone possessing the power of immortality. I cannot believe it."

Eventually, Nix, consumed by Erebus, revived after countless years.

From that alone, one could gauge how powerful the authority of immortality was.

"I too could not believe it. So, I looked into the history of this era."

The other Saints and Saintesses wore expressions of incomprehension.

What meaning could the history of a lowly race hold?

"The Flame of Catastrophe, which consumed all evil gods, and Tartarus attempted to burn this world 5000 years ago."

"Did that abomination commit such blasphemy?!"

Phlegethon revealed immense anger.

Lethe placed his hand on Phlegethon's shoulder.

The anger vanished instantly.

He had forgotten his anger.

"So? With the absorption of six evil gods, it should have been entirely possible. Why does this world still exist? Did they self-destruct due to their inability to control their power?"

Seeing Lethe calmly asking, Acheron said.

"No, the world reached the brink of destruction. In that situation, individuals called 'Great Heroes' appeared."

"Great Heroes?"

"It is a term referring to those who represent the five races of the earth."

"So? What did these 'Great Heroes' do? You're not going to tell a boring joke about five of them defeating the Flame of Catastrophe, are you?"

"Acheron. I thought you had no talent for jokes, but it seems I was mistaken."

Phyrri and Phlegethon laughed heartily.

"Do I look like I gathered you here to tell jokes?"

At Acheron's cold words, Phyrri and Phlegethon glared.

Lethe also looked at Acheron with an incredulous expression.

"Does that make sense? The terrestrial races are those blessed with forgetfulness. Is it not possible that they fabricated these baseless stories?"

In response to Lethe's question, Acheron held up a fragment of the Hero Record and said.

"The deeds of these 'Great Heroes' were recorded in the Hero Record.

The terrestrial beings may have forgotten, but the record system is the truth."

These words were shocking to the demons of Styx.

To them, who had existed long before the age of gods, the idea of terrestrial races obtaining the power to defeat evil gods was unimaginable.

As everyone was plunged into shock.

"There is no need to be surprised. Those 'Great Heroes' disappeared 5000 years ago."

Acheron said with a flat tone, a smirk playing on his lips.

"And even the gods completely vanished, leaving behind this 'Hero Record' into which they poured all their power."

"What exactly is that thing?"

"It is a type of hero nurturing system. A system that allows one to inherit the power and experience of past heroes recorded in the records. And it is maintained by achieving great deeds and having one's name recorded anew in the Hero Record. It seems to be damaged now… but it still seems to function properly."

Acheron placed the Hero Record on the table.

"Perhaps among the humans living in this era, there is someone who has inherited the abilities of the human who defeated Erebus 5000 years ago. The reason the second Saintess was annihilated is likely because she was defeated by that human."

"Inheriting abilities, you say."

"That is why it seems this era is called the Age of Heroes."

"The Age of Heroes?"

"Yes. The era after we fell asleep is called the Age of Gods, the era when the Flame of Catastrophe pushed the world to the brink of destruction is called the Age of Catastrophe, and the period from the defeat of the Flame of Catastrophe 5000 years ago until now is called the Age of Heroes, where heroes lead the world."

"Ha! Mortals, who are utterly foolish, leading the world? That's absurd."

Phyrri looked utterly incredulous.

"I cannot comprehend the thoughts of the gods."

Lethe also looked bewildered, and Phlegethon scoffed.

"Are not the heavenly beings ignorant fools who do not even fulfill their duties for their own pleasure?"

At those words, Acheron spoke.

"For us, it is a good thing."

The Saints and Saintesses looked at Acheron.

"We simply need to inform the terrestrial races that their true masters have returned."

Unlike Erebus, who burned everything, Nix was once an evil god who reigned as a Goddess.

She tempted the terrestrial races, promising eternal constancy.

As a result, before the Age of Gods, when Styx wielded great power, there was a time when all humans worshipped Nix.

"How should we inform them? They have likely forgotten our existence."

In response to Lethe's words, Acheron said.

"Whatever they call it, the Age of Heroes, these are ultimately fake heroes selected by the gods of the heavens."

Acheron looked towards the interior of the temple.

"Do we not have the true heroes selected by the Goddess in the past?"

"Ah."

Lethe let out an exclamation.

"Defeating a hero with a hero. That is the right judgment."