Chapter 152: Revelation

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[Alert! You are approaching the border of Human Territory. Please be advised that your signal with the Acala System will start to become weaker the further you go in. System Functions might stop working after a certain distance.]

[If you didn't mean to arrive at this location, please turn around and leave. The area behind the walls is filled with dangers that not even the System could accurately calculate.]

Cedric wasn't the only one who received this notice.

That much was obvious by how at least 90% of the students suddenly froze in their seats.

As if the fact that they were riding a bus to get there wasn't enough, the system kindly decided to warn them just to drive the idea home.

"So you've received the warning, it seems." Orion's voice cut through their thoughts. He looked at them with a blank expression and said: "No, this isn't a mistake. The Acala System is way too advanced for something like that."

"The Acala System is made for humans. No Demon or Demon Hybrid would ever be able to use it. In exchange for the security however, the Acala System's prowess became limited to just the Human territory."

"Out of all of us, Acala was the one who was injured the most in the war because she's literally the consciousness of our world. She already did her best to shelter us from harm and give us a chance to become stronger. Even if she wanted to help, her abilities are now extremely limited because she has gotten weak from all the malicious attacks of the demons."

"At least 75% of Prime Earth had been lost to demons. In Acala's case, that's 75% of her actual body. It's already a miracle that she's still alive. Each day passed, the Demons' corruption gnaws deeper and deeper into her flesh, consuming and changing her."

"If the Demon Race conquers the last 25% of this world, meaning if we lose what territory we have left, then it's safe to say that we will then be extinct. Don't hope for mercy because Demons wouldn't let us be after defeating us."

"Because her power is limited to our territory, it would make sense why the Acala System would lose functions the deeper you go into the Outer World. Don't worry though, your mission is to just patrol the borders. We won't send you to the jaws of hell...not yet at least, so relax a bit."

If that was supposed to make the students feel better, then it clearly wasn't working. All it did was to make them feel worse than before.

The fact that the Acala System could only be used within Human Territory was news for most of the students. As much as they didn't want to believe it, there's proof that they couldn't deny it.

However, just as they thought that this was it for the revelations, Orion revealed another important piece of information.

He didn't say anything and just stood behind Orion, silently waiting until the rest of his batchmates gathered the courage to join them here.

It took longer than expected. Eventually though, everyone left the bus and as soon as they did, they were met with a vast field of depressing sight.

They stood on top of the Eastern Great Wall. Looking at the world beyond Humanity's territory.

They were greeted by a scene straight out of Hell. The view reminded them so much of what Purgatory looked like; blackened soil oozing with corruption, rivers of vicuous blood with bones floating above the surface...

Haunting howls echoed from a distance. The land was desolated, not even a single blade of grass could be seen growing out there. The shadows seemed to be moving and making shapes under the veil of darkness, and the skies...oh, the skies...

Despite the fact that it was supposed to be the middle of the day, the skies out there were mostly clear aside from the occasional dark clouds. The sky was completely black. Not a single star was in sight.

Inevitably, their gazes land on the shattered moon above. The poor thing barely provided visibility for anybody. But the dreadful feeling of wrongness that's really throwing most of them off at this sight was the absence of the sun.

Where is the Sun?

"If you're looking for the Sun, you better stop looking." Orion's voice cuts through their haze. "Even if you were to travel all over the Outer World, you will not see it, simply because it is gone."

And there it is, the horror dawning upon the freshmen's faces upon the reveal of this fact.

"The Sun has disappeared since the beginning of the Superhuman Era. It was swallowed by the Demon King Asmodeus back then, permanently ridding us of its blessings."

Orion then faced the students and continued: "It was His Highness - Malik the Bold, the 5th Legendary Hero, who killed the Demon King. But even his death couldn't bring back our sun. The real sun."

"The sun that you see back there? That's fake. It was created by the 'House of Light' as a remembrance of what the real sun looks and feels like. However, it's been centuries since someone saw and felt what the real sun looked like, so who could truly say if their creation was accurate?"

"This is what the real world looks like. This...is the real situation of our world...the real situation of Humanity."

"Carve this image in your mind. I don't care if it haunts you for the rest of your life, I want you to remember it."

"This is proof that in front of real power, everything else is irrelevant."