Chapter 123
Chapter 123: She's Really Such a Little Cutie
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"This is the essence of a Pontifical Knight, and also the essence of the Abyss. And I... I hope that in the upcoming courses, you will all find your own path to walk, and walk it straight. No matter what happens in the future, don't regret it, don't look back."
Theresa's words came to an end.
These words, spoken in a soft and gentle tone, contained no obvious emotional fluctuations and didn't give one a particularly heavy feeling when listening.
But the meaning within them was clear as day.
Looking around, I saw some students quietly lowering their heads, and in their flickering eyes, the previous fervor had already faded considerably.
It wasn't about discouraging or scaring them, making them give up certain unrealistic fantasies early on. Teacher Theresa just wanted to tell them that if they didn't have enough resolve, they shouldn't fantasize about walking that path in the spotlight, it wasn't easy to walk, and it would inevitably be accompanied by countless corpses of enemies and comrades alike.
But if they had made up their minds, they could never retreat.
I roughly understood why I felt her eyes were somewhat similar to Carlos. It wasn't because they were both the same shade of blue, but rather... in their eyes, they both possessed something that ordinary people didn't have.
That something was called "conviction."
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but reach toward my neck... only to remember that the iris badge had already been placed in the bedroom of my mansion.
...Never mind, it's nothing.
I just suddenly wanted to touch it.
After a moment of silence, Theresa didn't say anything more about the previous topic. She had us open our textbooks and began explaining the content of this lesson.
Today's content was an introduction to the Abyss.
Just as she had mentioned earlier, the first Abyss suddenly appeared in the winter of the year 845 of the Common Era, in Cartergalin in the southern part of the Western Continent.
It was said to be a giant-like large creature filled with the aura of death, and to this day, it remained the Abyss with the recorded highest number of lives devoured — it turned Cartergalin, a country with a land area larger than the Valen Empire, into a desolate dead zone where nothing grows to this day.
The scorched earth from the Valen Disaster paled in comparison to it.
Precisely because it had devoured too many lives, that Abyss had become unprecedentedly powerful, growing to a degree that later Abysses simply couldn't compare to. The Church named it the Destruction Abyss. It was no longer a monster that a few Pontifical Knights could handle. Back then, among the 10,000 knights led by Angelica, almost all of the Church's and humanity's peak combat power had been assembled.
Even so, in the final battle, if it hadn't been for those two Divine Relics, perhaps no one would have survived.
The textbook stated: "Boswell" protected the knights from erosion by the Abyssal mire, while the "Ancient Divine Oracle" made the Destruction Abyss have nowhere to hide.
At this point, I was somewhat puzzled... I remembered that "Boswell" was the shell over the royal city, right? So did that mean this thing could block the Abyss?
But if that were truly the case, how did I get in... or was it that as long as one had that silver badge, even the Abyss could easily enter?
Or perhaps my current form wouldn't be "judged" by the shell as an Abyss?
I didn't know.
Let me continue listening.
Iris Angelica dealt the Destruction Abyss a fatal blow. The massive body fell and turned into ash scattering toward the sky. To commend her achievements, the Pope at that time decided to bestow upon her the unprecedented honorary title of "Pontifical Knight" and gave her the authority as "the Church's representative among the people."
Angelica, who was originally just the Church's Knight Commander, gladly accepted. As for that terrifying monster, despite all the Church's efforts, they never managed to figure out what exactly it was.
Five more years passed, and a new Abyss appeared again.
Although its appearance had changed, it was still the familiar mire and massive body. Besides that, the new Abyss had gained an additional ability: teleportation. But this small change wasn't enough for the monster to break through "Boswell's" barrier, and it was ultimately eliminated by Angelica. This time, because there were advance warnings, fortunately there were no major casualties.
Later, approximately every 5 years, a new Abyss would appear. Their abilities would change each time, but none were enough to make people feel helpless. During this period, three more people were conferred the title of Pontifical Knight.
The situation underwent a shocking change when the fifth Abyss descended.
The Church named it the "Death Abyss."
Compared to previous Abysses, the Death Abyss was much smaller in size. It was only about 4 meters tall, but it possessed two abilities simultaneously: Thunder-Fire Order and Death Smoke.
The unexpected power of Order appeared in the monster, and it was the same Thunder-Fire Order as Angelica. This caused her to lose her most powerful offensive method. However, what was even more terrifying was its other ability: the black smoke called "Death Smoke" — it could turn any life it touched into flying ash and take away their souls.
The monsters from the Abyss seemed to be evolving with great purpose.
The Death Abyss was ultimately slain by the knights, but humanity's strongest warrior — Iris Angelica — died in that world-shaking battle. Her funeral was said to be even grander than those of previous Popes, with countless people traveling from afar to see her off.
After this, the Pope established the iris as the symbolic flower of the Pontifical Knights.
For a long time afterward, new Pontifical Knights continuously emerged and then died. The frequency of Abyss descents also became increasingly frequent, with intervals changing from once every 5 years to once or twice a year today. The timing and locations have also become increasingly unpredictable.
"Up to now, the characteristics of the Abyss have almost become fixed," Theresa said. "First, almost every single Abyss that has appeared in the past century possesses the ability of Death Smoke. Besides that, each Abyss also has another completely different ability... Take the Endless Abyss that appeared last time in Sylgaria, for example. Apart from Death Smoke, it seemed to also possess the ability of 'mimicry,' capable of creating blades that cut through iron like mud, and could even create countless bizarre monsters that resembled humans and could move independently."
"My personal view is that the Abysses are still changing with purpose. They seem to be constantly trying something. And this change will eventually bring unimaginable disaster to the world... Fortunately, our knights are still working hard."
"The Endless Abyss was ultimately slain by the new Pontifical Knight, Miss Sylvia. And that young lady... is said to be the youngest Pontifical Knight in history. Although I haven't met her in person, I know her age, she's younger than everyone sitting here. She's only 16 years old."
As these words fell, the students exploded into discussion.
"My god, 16 years old... unimaginable..."
"I saw it in the Church Herald before! I thought it was fake..."
"My sister just turned 16 this year... but she still throws tantrums at home... slaying an Abyss..."
At this moment, Sarah beside me gently nudged my arm: "16 years old... Peylo, the same age as you..."
"Yes, very impressive."
I stared straight ahead, expressionless.
"She's really such a little cutie."