“The power of the angels and demons is indeed impressive, but you can’t really say their very existence is something extraordinary. It’s just that they were born into favorable circumstances.”
You can’t attribute everything to luck, but most angels and the Demon Race have risen to such positions due to their good fortune.
From the moment they’re born, they possess the power to crush almost all life forms in the Lower Realm.
Unless they happen to be particularly flawed, they grow in a world where they’re protected by their kin and groups, becoming stronger just by breathing.
Once they grow into adults, there’s hardly anyone who can even dare to compete against them besides other angels and the Demon Race.
That power is something that even a considerable monster would take a thousand years to achieve through training.
“They might just have had good luck with their reincarnation draw. Being able to get strong just by breathing, isn’t that pretty convenient? Of course, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with that, but their mindset is incredibly arrogant. As if they earned that power through sheer hard work—”
“…Professor?”
“…Anyway.”
[Lily?]
[ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[Lily’s gradient rage, what’s that?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Seems like she really hates it.]
[Lily’s not an angel either…]
[Oh ho.]
[Rage Lily lol.]
[Sounds like a lot of personal opinion, doesn’t it? Lily teacher.]
[Can you speak objectively?~]
Hmm.
I lightly tapped the tall teacher’s desk and looked at everyone.
Their faces seemed a bit more serious than before.
Of course, from their standpoint, it wasn’t something to take too seriously.
“Angels and demons are just much stronger and unique beings compared to other monsters~ It’s easier to think like that. Did everyone generally understand?”
“Yes~”
“Can I ask a question?”
“Is it related to the lecture?”
“Uh… I think it might be related… or maybe not.”
“Then let’s finish the explanation first and I’ll take personal questions all at once. Please wait a moment.”
“Ah, yes.”
The Forbidden Mage nodded while lowering his hand.
Another mage across the room glared at him with wide eyes, but he was doing his best to avoid eye contact.
They don’t seem to get along very well.
“As I mentioned earlier, angels live in the Heavenly Realm, and demons live in the Demon Realm. The difference between the two worlds is simple.”
“The creator is different?”
“That’s right, Lord Leo.”
“Awesome.”
Leo, who arrived early and secured a front-row seat along with Yena, clenched his tiny fist.
Leo is busy these days, but he has to hear this.
“The Heavenly Realm was created by the Celestial God, overflowing with Holy Power, while conversely, the Demon Realm was created by the Demon God, overflowing with Magic.”
“Ohhh.”
“And the ‘density’ of this Holy Power and Magic increases as you move towards the center. It started spreading from the center outwards.”
As I lightly tapped the air, the Holy Power and Magic, which had been scattered chaotically, was sucked into one point.
Mana, which was disorderly spread and imitated by Holy and Magic, was sucked into a single point.
Eventually, the two powers exploded, releasing throughout the entire Lecture Hall.
Once again, the students’ mouths opened wide.
The epicenter of the explosion was filled with light and darkness, but the outskirts weren’t particularly bright or dark.
“Naturally, stronger Angels and Demons will reside at the epicenter, right? Whereas, weaker beings live on the outskirts.”
Of course, that’s not strictly accurate.
“If you ever go to the Heavenly or Demon Realm, you should stay as far away from the epicenter as possible. You might run into real ‘monsters’ sometimes.”
“Monsters?”
“Monsters in the literal sense.”
Not just disasters like the Kraken or Pharaoh we usually see.
“Real disasters.”
If a regular monster appearing before an ordinary human is like a hurricane or tsunami, then they are akin to unavoidable meteors.
Beings you can’t resist no matter what.
“You get so used to living in the divine realm for so long that you become similar to the gods. So try to avoid them if you can.”
[Shiver shiver shiver]
[How strong can they be?]
[Can even Lily not defeat them?]
[Scary…]
[That next disaster isn’t one of them, is it?]
[Look at the Rankers scared, hahahaha]
[Big Lily can win against anything]
[How do you know it’s the center?]
“There are several ways to ascertain your position in the Heavenly or Demon Realm. The first is to ask the Angels or Demons who live there. But this is something you shouldn’t do unless you can surpass the opponent…”
“?”
If you casually ask, the chances of losing your body and soul as payment are extremely high.
Regardless of whether they are Celestials or Demons, any other race is treated as bugs.
Just the fact that you’ve dared to speak could open the door to death.
“The second way is to look at the sky.”
“The sky?”
“The skies of the Heavenly and Demon Realms are special, where the constellations shine or darken rapidly due to the influence of the world. By watching this flow, you can figure out your approximate location.”
People unfamiliar wouldn’t know, but after visiting a few times, you naturally get to learn.
Eventually, you won’t even need to look up at the sky, just recognizing the light and darkness coming down will tell you your location.
“There are other methods as well, like using tools or obtaining maps. Right, Miss Yena?”
“How far can we go with our skills?”
“……”
With Yena and Ranker Users, huh?
As I looked at them, the students were also gazing at me with subtle expectation.
Compared to the past, the Rankers had become quite strong.
With their level of strength, how far could they go in the Heavenly or Demon Realm?
I conjured up a rough map of the Demon Realm in the air as a light example.
A map spreading around a large, darkened circle.
I pointed to a section of the outer area while holding a stick.
At this level of position, there are no families or special groups that reside here.
“Here.”
“It’s completely outskirts, nya?”
“Eh.”
“Can’t we go any further?”
“Our level is merely to that extent?”
“Well, it’s still possible to enter, right? Seems pretty decent—”
“Look outside.”
Whoosh…!
The stick was gradually pushed away.
The stick, having been pushed from the black area, didn’t come to a stop until a while later.
The expressions of the students, which had initially been light-hearted, darkened rapidly.
“This seems appropriate.”
[???]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[No, that’s just outside.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Joking?]
[???: You guys can’t do this.]
[Angels and demons are that strong, huh?]
[Is it really this extent?]
[It’s absurd.]
[How strong is Lily?]
[Rankers are weak, yeah.]
Beyond the map lies an area outside the map.
Some looked at me, astonished.
“No, this is a bit….”
“…Is that correct?”
“Yes, it is. Though it’s not marked on the map, there’s still a concrete land and world here. The Heaven and Demon Realm are surprisingly vast.”
If we need to be precise, it’s more of an undeveloped area still in progress.
Resources are so scarce that not even the outskirts dare to be regarded, but somehow, living is possible here.
Here, existents in the lowest tier, even looked down upon by angels and demons, survive.
“Of course, you all are strong. You’re strong enough to defeat angels and demons living in this ‘outermost outer area.’”
“Then why…?”
“Because it’s their land.”
They are filled with holiness and magic deep within their essence.
No matter how strong a user might be, using their power in their land is difficult.
“Even the so-called glorious angels and demons fear fighting in the world of the other races. Their strength gets halved while the opponent grows stronger.”
That’s why the Eight Seats and Six Demon Kings, who continued fierce wars, seldom invade the center.
They typically fight in areas far from the center or in completely unrelated worlds.
Of course, if there’s a severe gap in power, this becomes meaningless.
“The strength you all possess is indeed what I marked earlier. But in consideration of the overall situation, this is the limit.”
“……”
“Ugh.”
“Are we just useless?”
“I feel dizzy…”
“What about Lady Lily? She should be near the center.”
One of the students asked.
One of the students asked.
“I wonder where I can be active right now.”
That’s a bit of a complicated question.
If it were the past, a clear answer would have emerged, but as for the present, I couldn’t say how the Heavenly Realm and the Demon Realm have changed.
Whether the war has ended and the damaged forces have been restored, or if they’ve remained broken is still a mystery.
Unless I go there myself, there’s currently no way to know.
But if I think based on the ‘past’…
[Right?]
[Lily, where are you?]
[If it’s Lily, she must be in the center, haha!]
[Center, let’s go!]
[Oh.]
[Depends on the Heavenly and Demon realms, I guess?]
[But didn’t Lily say earlier that she can’t beat the ones living in the center?]
“…First of all, the Demon Realm would be suitable around here.”
“Oh?”
“Lady Lily?”
“Yes.”
My stick was positioned somewhat away from the center.
While much closer to the center compared to others, objectively speaking, it was still quite far.
Many thought I would be situated in the central area, but I couldn’t go there even in the past.
And based on the present, it was out of the question.
“As you know, magic doesn’t suit me. I think this is my limit.”
“What about the Heavenly Realm?”
“The Heavenly Realm is somewhat closer. How about around this?”
The stick moved a bit closer to the center.
However, it still was nowhere near the center.
“Hmm…”
“Still, it got pretty close.”
“That’s relative. Each of you must have a world suited for your abilities. My abilities are also related to the Holy…”
“Is it because Lady Lily is an angel that she fits the Heavenly Realm?”
Shhh…
The lecture hall fell silent.
As everyone’s gaze turned toward the boy who asked the question, the Forbidden Mage nearly jumped and put his hands down.
“…”
[Whoa]
[Is the Forbidden Mage insane?]
[Lololololololol]
[Did he really say that to her face?]
[What a crazy guy.]
[If you say that…]
[That’s some serious levels of insanity.]
[Lolololololololol]
[Legendary moment.]
[Looks like Lily is pretty pissed off.]
Wow, fitting…
I quietly looked up at him.
“Is that what you think?”
