Ian’s eyes widened at the sight of Belphegor.
Why on earth was he here?
‘I thought Elysion would appear, given it was someone who knows the truth.’
Of course, Belphegor might also know some truths. After all, Ian’s previous memories suggested someone from the demonic side had promised to help him.
Judging from the current circumstances, it seemed that person was indeed Belphegor.
‘With such grand claims, he couldn’t be an ordinary demon, right?’
If he didn’t wield significant influence among the demons, he wouldn’t speak in such a way.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
Unlike the other Demon Kings who constantly targeted Ian, Belphegor had been merely observing the situation.
No matter how he thought about it, the one Elysion had referred to must have been Belphegor.
‘Right. I only thought of him as the one who promised support.’
He had never imagined that he would be the one who knew all the truths.
That was why.
“Are you the one who knows all the truth?”
“Yes.”
Ian had asked again for confirmation.
Despite Ian’s abrupt question, Belphegor merely looked at him with a sorrowful expression.
“I hoped it wasn’t true, but it seems you’ve indeed lost all your memories.”
“Lost my memories? What are you talking about….”
“I understand your curiosity. I, too, wish I could explain everything, but we don’t have the luxury of time for that.”
Though he wanted to answer Ian’s questions, starting with what he meant by losing his memories, there wasn’t enough time to explain everything.
Wasting precious time on stories that would be hard to understand without context was not an option.
As someone obligated to reveal hidden secrets, Belphegor had no choice.
“I know you’re troubled, but please understand. For your sake, I can’t tell you everything. However, if you have other questions, I can answer those.”
“Then, why don’t you follow the same path as the other Demon Kings?”
“Why I don’t follow the same path…”
Belphegor raised an eyebrow at the sudden question.
He might have wondered why Ian was asking this. Others might have first asked why he was possessed.
But Ian thought differently.
‘Asking why I’m the one possessed is meaningless. What’s important now is learning about our enemies.’
He knew dwelling on the past wouldn’t improve the situation.
Even if he couldn’t change the past from three seconds ago, he could change the future.
‘My goal is to kill the Demon God safely and achieve a happy ending. Nothing else matters.’
For a bright future, knowing about his enemies was crucial.
What were the remaining Demon Kings thinking? Why didn’t Belphegor, despite his power, aim for the Demon God’s position?
“Hm. This is an unexpected question. But you’ve always been someone with incomprehensible thoughts.”
“Didn’t you say we don’t have much time? We should avoid idle talk.” “
Don’t rush me. I have time to answer your question.”
Belphegor, lost in thought, slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
“First, let me say this. Unlike the other Demon Kings, I have no intention of attacking you. I am entirely on your side. I hope you understand this.”
“Then, why do you act differently? Is it because you have no interest in worldly affairs?”
A demon who didn’t care about worldly matters and spent his time leisurely in his territory.
That was Belphegor.
So, was he doing nothing because, as the Demon King of Sloth, he simply had no interest in worldly affairs?
As Ian tried to organize his questions, Belphegor continued.
“It’s simple. To prevent the Demon God’s death.”
“What?”
Ian’s mouth hung open, caught off guard by the answer.
‘What is he talking about?’
Prevent the Demon God’s death? What did that even mean?
If that was the case, then Belphegor was no different from the other Demon Kings?
Seeing Ian’s confused expression, Belphegor closed his eyes, seemingly contemplating.
After about five seconds, he spoke again.
“Perhaps I spoke too briefly. Given that your memories were erased, you might not understand. Let me clarify this: the Demon God must never be eliminated.”
The moment Ian began to realize the hidden secrets.
***
Belphegor’s assertion that the Demon God must exist was not something Ian could easily comprehend.
After all, hadn’t he been tirelessly working towards defeating the Demon God all this time?
‘But if the Demon God is actually someone who shouldn’t disappear…’
What did that mean for everything he had done so far?
What about the quests given to him during his possession? Was either Belphegor or the quest lying to him?
Understanding Ian’s turmoil, Belphegor nodded and began summoning his demonic energy.
“Why are you suddenly using your demonic energy?”
“Don’t be alarmed. It’s not to attack you.”
As Belphegor had said, the dark energy dispersed, altering the space around them.
Just as legendary Grand Masters used mana to create their own domains, Belphegor was using his dark energy to dominate the space.
‘Seeing this, it’s understandable that his power rivals that of the Demon God.’
And this was Belphegor, even while restrained by the limitations of meddling in the middle realm.
If he could exhibit such strength while shackled, what must he be capable of in his home realm of Astelgia?
Whoosh!
While Ian was in awe, the dark energy began forming a scene.
It created a vision of the cosmos.
An endlessly vast black space, with the planet Gaia at its center, the stage for the Heroic Academy.
Gaia resembled Earth closely, but the key difference was the presence of two protective barriers surrounding it.
“Are those barriers?”
“Yes, they’re protective shields to safeguard Gaia from external threats.”
“External threats?”
“The universe outside Gaia is vast, beyond comprehension. Naturally, there are other life forms as well.”
In fact, the discovery of extraterrestrial life was made long ago.
At that time, Belphegor wasn’t particularly interested in them.
The reason?
“Most of them weren’t significant.”
They were beings inferior to humans, mere insects in comparison.
However, as time passed, he could no longer remain indifferent.
“There are a few, though, that can be considered gods.”
The moment he discovered the alien gods he had observed while observing the universe, the so-called Outer Gods.
“Monsters? Then those protective barriers…”
“Were created to shield Gaia from the outer gods. The outer barrier was made by the Demon God, and the inner one by Eris. Although their purpose is more about camouflage than protection.”
“Camouflage…”
As Ian’s sharp eyes surveyed the created scene, he began to understand.
The Demon God, ruler of Astelgia, and Eris, the Goddess of Peace. Weren’t they the most powerful entities in Heroic Academy?
If even they found it necessary to create barriers to conceal Gaia, the Outer Gods must be unimaginably powerful.
‘If the Demon God is using his power to protect Gaia, it makes sense why Belphegor wants to prevent his death.’
If the Demon God were to disappear, the responsibility of protecting Gaia would fall solely on Eris.
However, that didn’t resolve all of Ian’s questions.
There were still many unresolved issues.
“There’s something I’m curious about. Can I ask?”
“Feel free. We still have some time.”
“I know that the Holy Sword Elysion was created by Eris to kill the Demon God. But if they are in a cooperative relationship, why create a weapon to kill each other?”
If Eris and the Demon God were in a cooperative relationship, creating such a weapon seemed contradictory to Ian.
“Also, the prophecy given to the Hero’s party. Doesn’t that mean Eris ordered the Demon God’s death?”
Understanding the importance of this question, Belphegor began to explain.
“As you said, the Holy Sword was indeed created to kill the Demon God. It was made to prevent any impulsive actions from either side.”
“So then…”
“However, the current Demon God isn’t opposed to Eris. The prophecy Eris gave refers to a different individual.”
“A different individual?”
“Eris, the Goddess of Peace, uses her divine power to foresee the future. She has frequently used this power to protect Gaia.”
Until now, there hadn’t been any significant crises.
Though wars between humans and demons frequently broke out, they were instigated by the Demon Kings, not the Demon God himself.
Eris had assumed there would be no major issues in the future as well.
However, the world wasn’t solely inhabited by rational beings, as Eris had hoped.
“But recently, Eris mentioned that something is wrong with her prophecies. She said the future is being destroyed.”
“Does that mean there are entities causing chaos?”
“Yes, they are Pride and Wrath. You might know them better as Lucifer and Satan.”
Although they couldn’t rival the Demon God or Belphegor, these powerful Demon Kings were indeed problematic.
“Pride and Wrath were dissatisfied with the current balance maintained by Eris and the Demon God. Their discontent grew, eventually leading them to extreme measures. They wondered what would happen if they could take the Demon God’s place since they were almost on par with him even as Demon Kings.”
If they could ascend to the Demon God’s position, they would gain powers befitting that role.
To make matters worse, the current Demon God was aging and expected to pass his position to a Demon King soon.
For Lucifer and Satan, who had been biding their time, this was the perfect opportunity.
“Are you saying… that they…?”
“Yes, you’re correct. They intended for one of them to become the Demon God, obtain his powers, and then confront the Outer Gods.”
Tired of their oppressed existence, they decided to abandon their shared rule with Eris.
They sought not only to dominate Gaia but also to subjugate the Outer Gods.
“Their plan reached Eris, who then read the future once again. The future she saw…”
“…”
“…was destruction.”
They might have thought it was possible. It might seem like a foolish and arrogant decision, but from Lucifer and Satan’s perspective, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Outer Gods.
They had only heard tales of their might but had never actually faced them.
Just as one must measure to know what’s long and what’s short, Lucifer and Satan believed they could handle a battle against the Outer Gods.
‘Even as Demon Kings, they were only slightly weaker than the Demon God. They must have thought they wouldn’t be lacking if they became the Demon God themselves.’
After making up their minds, they boldly killed the Demon God and Eris, taking control of Gaia. But their end was not favorable.
“Those two failed to protect Gaia from the attacks of the Outer Gods.”
The moment the veil that protected Gaia from the predators’ eyes was lifted, the predators’ fangs gleamed.
The Outer Gods, who had ruled the unknown reaches of the universe, tore apart the new Demon Gods.
That was when they realized the future held only destruction.
“So, the Demon God that the prophecy said must be killed is…”
“Not the current Demon God, Azidahaka, but Lucifer and Satan.”
“So, those two were the cause of all this.”
Belphegor nodded solemnly, but Ian couldn’t hide his shock.
It was only natural, given the overwhelming amount of information being dumped on him all at once.
It would have been fine if he had time to process it, but Belphegor, unfortunately, didn’t have that luxury.
After catching his breath for a moment, Belphegor continued.
“Eris, after confirming the future, immediately appointed a Hero. That Hero was your sister, Ariel Volkanov.”
“I know. She awakened as a Hero around the age of six.”
“Fortunately, they found someone with the potential to be a Hero, but the situation was still dire. The Hero was too weak.”
“Weak?”
“Due to her unfortunate childhood, she couldn’t get along with her party members, fell into severe depression, and lacked the will to fight.”
The Hero’s party. In public perception, the Hero did everything while the party members were merely supporting cast.
But that was far from the truth.
The party members were essential to compensate for the Hero’s shortcomings.
Every interaction and cooperation were crucial, and they needed to form a close bond to watch each other’s backs in battle.
Ariel, however, couldn’t do this.
As the Hero, she should have led her party, but she was weak-willed and couldn’t trust others.
At that point, Eris and the Demon God had no choice but to find a new solution.
“They faced countless failures. Of course, each time they used divine power to turn back the timeline…”
“But eventually, they couldn’t endure any longer. If they used too much divine power, maintaining the barrier would become difficult.”
“Exactly. Countless debates ensued as they tried to find a solution.”
They pondered endlessly on how to deal with Lucifer and Satan, exchanging numerous opinions.
Gradually, they converged on one idea.
“Eris and the Demon God decided to find a helper for the Hero.”
Given the shortage of time and divine power, selecting a new Hero was out of the question. Finding a helper was the best option.
“At that time, I heard that Ariel, the only child of the Volkanov family, had an older brother. Of course, he was stillborn.”
“Stillborn? What does that mean?”
“They thought, if they could create someone who could empathize with her lonely and troubled childhood, they could make her stronger by using that as a medium for her happiness.”
“What?”
Stillborn? Only child? What on earth did that mean?
Belphegor’s words implied that Ian’s very existence was never meant to be.
“…What on earth does this mean?”
Ian looked at him, expecting an explanation. However, Belphegor continued to convey what needed to be said.
“Eris adjusted the world to save that child. Of course, the body was already dead, and the soul had long departed… but it didn’t matter. As long as the soul can be retrieved.”
It was the moment when Belphegor moved in place of the Demon God, who had excessively consumed his divine power, and Eris.
He sought out beings from other realms who could empathize with the current situation and lend their power.
Finally, he succeeded in saving a soul.
Thanks to that.
“No way… that is.”
“That’s right, it’s you, Lee Hyun-Woo.”
The reason Ian Volkanov, who shouldn’t have existed in the world, was able to live.
‘Ian was supposed to die, and Heroic Academy was created by Belphegor to bring my soul here?’
The grand secret was unveiled, but that didn’t solve all the questions.
Ian couldn’t understand why he was chosen if they truly wanted to save a worthy soul when there were other seasoned individuals available.
To uncover the hidden story, Ian lifted his head and saw it.
Crack!
“The space is breaking?”
“It seems our time is almost up…”
The space was distorting, and the demonic energy was scattering rapidly.
The constraints on Belphegor, who had intervened in the middle realm, were becoming severe.
“Unfortunately, it seems I can’t reveal more of the remaining truth.”
It was truly unfortunate, but on the other hand, Belphegor thought it was a relief.
Because he could convey this one truth.
“Anyway, remember this one thing. You were created for Ariel.”
Belphegor paused to catch his breath and then continued.
“You have repeatedly sacrificed countless times for Ariel.”
