Chapter 67: The First Class. (2)
"My name is Alfarius Trimegistus," the man announced severely. "And I’m here to teach you ’Theory I.’ Yes, I know... the name isn’t the best in the world."
A slight murmur ran through the classroom, more from inertia than genuine reaction. No one seemed relaxed enough to laugh.
Alfarius didn’t smile.
"Even so," he continued, "it’s probably the most important class you’re going to have here."
He put his hands behind his back and began walking slowly through the amphitheater’s central space.
"We’re going to start with the basics. What you think you know... and what it really is."
He stopped.
"There isn’t just one world. Something you undoubtedly already know. Everyone here surely comes from Earth and has been transported to a different world you could consider ’fantasy’ until now."
Some students shifted slightly in their seats.
"But there are more, countless," he added. "Complete realities, independent in appearance, each with its own laws, cultures, power systems... and conflicts."
Aku observed in silence.
"For a long time," Alfarius continued, "these worlds remained isolated. Separated, without contact with each other. Until something appeared that changed that."
He made a small pause.
"The Labyrinth of Od’Zohar."
The name remained suspended in the air, heavy.
"It’s not known if it was created voluntarily or simply appeared. Nor is it a place in the conventional sense," the instructor explained. "You can’t traverse it as you would traverse a path or city. It’s a macrostructure. A network that connects all those realities to each other."
His gaze rose slightly.
"A system that permits transit between worlds."
Some students frowned, trying to process the idea.
"Thanks to this labyrinth," he continued, "something that was previously unthinkable became possible."
He turned toward them.
"The creation of the Yggdrasil hero association."
The name sounded more firmly.
"Heroes summoned, selected, or trained, sent from one world to another with a clear purpose."
He didn’t need to say it immediately.
"Defeat the demon kings."
The atmosphere tensed slightly.
"Now then..." he added, interlacing his hands. "This is where most of you have the wrong idea."
His tone didn’t change, but his gaze became sharper.
"Demon kings aren’t simply powerful enemies. They aren’t isolated tyrants or local threats."
He made a pause.
"They’re heralds."
Silence.
"Entities that don’t belong to any of those worlds."
Some students leaned forward, attentive.
"They exist outside the mass of ordered realities. Beyond the system the Labyrinth connects."
His voice descended slightly.
"In a chaotic void known as the Primordial Sea."
Aku didn’t look away, feeling true curiosity about the origin of his existence.
After all, while he was a demon king, he didn’t know the meaning of that word or where or how he had been born.
"A place where stable laws don’t exist. Where the very concept of structure decomposes."
Alfarius barely raised his gaze.
"And in that place... lies the Star of Xoth."
The name resonated differently.
Heavier.
"The point of origin."
A brief silence occurred before continuing.
"It’s there where these entities are born. Not by creation... but by fission. Fragments that separate, that acquire form, will... and purpose."
He lowered his gaze toward the classroom.
"And that purpose... is to infiltrate the ordered realities and as you can imagine, create chaos and destruction."
No one spoke. They were aware of it.
They had faced those beings head-on, so they were aware of the danger they posed.
"Demon kings are simply the most visible manifestation of something much greater," the instructor explained. "They’re more similar to a force of nature than anything else. Yes, you could say that at the base that’s what they are, a property of reality that can be fought."
Alfarius let the silence settle a few more seconds before continuing. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry. When he moved again, he raised his hand slightly.
Immediately, a floating screen appeared in the air beside him.
It wasn’t solid, but not ethereal either. A translucent, bluish surface that projected images with almost unsettling clarity.
They didn’t seem like simple illustrations... there was something more in them, as if they captured an essence, not just a form.
"Not all demon kings are equal," he said calmly.
Some shifted uncomfortably.
"To classify the threat," he continued, "we use a ranking system."
The screen changed.
An image appeared.
A small, deformed creature. What originally looked like a goblin... but twisted. Its skin had mutated into an irregular mass, with dark tones and cracks through which reddish energy filtered. Its eyes had no pupils, only a chaotic glow. Around it, withered and twisted plants grew unnaturally.
"F-rank," Alfarius explained. "The lowest manifestation."
He pointed at the image without touching it.
"They usually originate when a weak creature comes into contact with chaos. A goblin, an animal... even a plant."
The image changed slightly, showing a root expanding aggressively, consuming the terrain.
"They’re unstable, limited. Dangerous to their immediate environment, but perfectly manageable by the world’s own inhabitants."
The screen changed again.
This time, the image showed a wyvern. Or what remained of it.
Its body was covered with irregular plates, as if its own flesh had hardened in overlapping layers. Its wings were partially torn, but it still remained in the air.
Its mouth, open, revealed a kind of dark energy accumulating in its throat.
"E-rank," he continued. "When chaos affects more powerful creatures."
The image zoomed in on the wyvern’s face, showing grotesque details in its structure.
"More resistant, more destructive. But they still lack true intelligence. They follow simple patterns. Attack. Destroy. Persist."
Another transition.
Now the image showed a city.
Or what remained of it.
Empty streets, ruined buildings... and figures moving slowly. Humans. Or something similar. Their bodies were deteriorated, their movements erratic. Some fell, others stood up. A mass without clear direction.
"D-rank."
Alfarius’s voice became slightly graver.
"This is where the influence begins to expand."
The image showed an aerial view. The infection spread like a stain, advancing without control.
"A recorded example: an outbreak in a world self-named Elaris. A chaotic-origin virus that reanimated corpses. Yes, you’ve guessed it, basically a zombie virus."
A body threw itself at another without motive.
"They’re not rational as you can see."
The image stopped.
"This type of threat is only dangerous if not contained in time. They lack intelligence and there’s always a clear weakness. In fact, even on Earth this type of demon king has been born, but they were contained in time."
The screen changed again.
Now, the same scenario... but different.
The city was completely taken. No safe zones remained. Deformed creatures, larger, more aggressive, walked among the remains. The infection was no longer chaotic... it had direction.
"B-rank."
Some students leaned forward.
"When a D-type threat isn’t eliminated in time, it evolves."
The image showed a larger creature, clearly dominant, observing the environment from atop a structure.
"There’s still no great intelligence... but the scale changes."
The professor interlaced his hands.
"It can threaten entire civilizations. For the same reason that when you get a strange lump on your neck you should go to the doctor, when you have a D-rank demon king you must annihilate it. If not, well you can imagine, it becomes an uncontrollable outbreak."
The screen changed again.
This time, the image was different.
A humanoid being.
Tall. Imposing. Dressed in dark armor, adorned with details that seemed to move slowly, as if they were alive. Around it, an organized army extended in formation. Varied creatures, but clearly subordinate.
"A-rank."
Alfarius’s tone became firmer.
"This is the type most of you know. You’ve faced them, or well, you’ve been defeated by them."
The image centered on the being’s face. Bright eyes, evident intelligence.
"A recorded example: Morgoth, A-rank."
A name appeared next to the image.
"Capable of manipulating igneous energy and distorting the terrain around him. He conquered three kingdoms before being contained by the inhabitants of his own kingdom."
The image showed cities in flames.
"Intelligent. Strategic. With leadership capacity. They’re usually manageable if the whole world unites against them in time."
The next image was darker.
A battlefield.
Entire armies facing each other... and losing.
In the center, a figure similar to the previous one, but more... dense. Its presence seemed to distort space itself.
"S-rank."
Silence.
"This is where a world, by itself, isn’t enough."
The image showed the fall of multiple armies.
"Even united, they can’t win."
The figure advanced without real opposition.
"This is where a hero’s intervention is required. Though if you’re wondering, many times heroes are required at lower levels to avoid inconveniences."
The screen changed once more.
Now, there was only one figure.
There was no army.
It didn’t need one.
The environment around it was... broken. As if reality itself couldn’t remain stable near it.
It was an anthropomorphic shadow that seemed to undo reality around it with its very existence.
"SS-rank."
Alfarius’s voice lowered slightly.
"A threat that, by itself, can destroy its world."
The image showed continents fragmenting.
"It doesn’t need an army. Its simple existence is already enough."
Finally, the last image appeared.
And the atmosphere changed.
It wasn’t just a figure.
It was... something more.
A being whose form wasn’t completely stable. It changed slightly when looking at it. Its body seemed made of reality fragments badly fitted together. The sky around it wasn’t sky. The ground wasn’t ground.
Everything... was wrong.
But to Aku it was extremely familiar.
It reminded him of himself.
"SSS-rank."
No one spoke.
"Power comparable to that of a creation god. Or well, it has the potential of one."
The image showed the environment bending, rewriting itself. Showing a deformed reality adopting non-Euclidean forms that couldn’t be observed in a simple visual representation.
"They’re usually reality manipulators. Gods, so to speak. I assure you they’re not easy to defeat at all."
Alfarius affirmed. He seemed to speak from experience.
"Because even they... have limits. They are, so to speak, embryos of something virtually omnipotent. But they don’t know how to use their power, or don’t have the resources to exploit it."
Aku nodded inwardly. Even if it was egocentric to recognize it, he identified with that rank.
He was an SSS-rank demon.
Then the screen slowly faded.
"The ranks above this..."
He made a small pause.
"Don’t matter."
His gaze swept the classroom.
"Because you won’t be able to face them."
Silence.
"And if you do... well, let’s hope not."