"Let's speak to Amanda then." After issuing this order, Marchioness Atalante and Azrael part ways at Chasrol City's inner city entrance. Marchioness Atalante, as she said, takes Lumos to her manor—but not to have him treated. Instead, with Lumos inside Rasui's body, she and Azrael have decided to lock him up in her manor. As for Alora and Arthur, Azrael takes them to the Academy's medical room.
"Professor Azrael? What are you doing here? And... why are Alora and Arthur unconscious?" asks Rose, jumping to her feet.
Azrael looks around the room. Rose is the only person still using the Academy's medical room? What about Amanda who'd been hurt the most? "Have the others gone home already?"
"Y-yes, they have. But what about Arthur and Alora?"
"They're fine. They are just tired."
"I... see." Rose's eyes twitch, not closing one bit.
"Are you concerned?"
"No... I..." She drops her head and stares at the ground. "Professor Azrael, is it true that you are a God?"
Azrael's eyes widen, "Where did you... hear that?"
She turns her head. Azrael follows her gaze and his eyes fall on Arthur. "He told us when you were in the press conference. Please don't blame him for this, it was us who begged him."
Azrael watches as she bows her head, pleading for Azrael's forgiveness. He smiles, "I won't punish Arthur for telling you all. It was not meant to be a secret anyway." Well, not to Class 1A, at least. "Don't beat yourself up, or bow your head for something this insignificant. And to answer your question, yes, I am a God. I am Azrael, the Primordial God of Death."
"Primordial... God? Speaking of, what is that?"
"A Primordial God?"
"Yes."
"In simple terms, we are the first gods. We existed before time and space. Before all life, we were alone... in an empty, hollow paradise."
"I... see. Well, if you're... if you are the God of Death, have we not been disrespectful towards you, your—"
"There's no need to speak formally to me. I'm sure Arthur has told you all about my situation. Right now, I am Azrael, the demi-human. I do not possess even a sliver of the divine strength I had when I was a God. And I don't want humans to treat me any differently than you treat others. I want to interact with you all as naturally as possible before I return to Godhood."
"Well, if that's what you want, Professor Azrael. Anyway, it seems everything else Arthur has told us is true. If I may ask, how are you going to unseal your powers?"
"Well, I have a plan but it will take some time to enact."
"Time? What about Tyson? He can't survive in the Zostrel Aeoub mountains. It's impossible."
"Calm down, Rose. I understand your concerns but going to the Zostrel Aeoub mountains as I am now would be nothing short of a suicide mission."
"Then—"
"That does not mean I am giving up on Tyson. He is a part of Class 1A, and I will not allow anyone from our class to die before their time. That said, if these mountains are as dangerous as you all make it seem, I would struggle quite a bit in my current state."
"In your... current state? What do you mean?"
"I consumed a large portion of my nether energy in a recent outburst. Without catalysts, I am all but useless in a fight against a strong opponent. So, if things go according to plan, I'll be able to weaken the seal, instead of breaking it." I've been thinking about it wrong. Even with the blessing of a Primordial Deity, the Seal of Yahweh is not something a human can break. If, instead, I have this saint weaken the seal, I think I should have access to a sliver of my True Death Arts. And if it doesn't work, I will have to continue my investigation into the god's presence below the academy.
"Professor Azrael, I understand the benefits of waiting, but Tyson is still a student. And the Zostrel Aeoub mountains are not a safe place for mages of any level to investigate, let alone be sent to involuntarily. Black dragons are the most powerful creatures on Gaia. Stories of their ferocity have been passed down and now they are considered ghost stories, used to frighten children. But these are not simple ghost stories. The stories passed down are the accounts of powerful magicians... scholars who risked their lives to find out anything and everything they could so we could prepare ourselves if they ever chose to attack us. We are not Gods like you, Professor Azrael. We bleed. We suffer. We... die. Black dragons are more powerful than we are. It doesn't matter if a magician is one of the Ten Wands or just a student in a magic university, we are all alike in their eyes."
"Are you sure about that?"
"What?"
"When my twin sister... or you will know her better as Gaia, the Primordial Goddess of Life, said she wanted to create humans, she came to me before presenting the idea. She wanted humans to appear more like us, the Primordial Deities. She created you in our likeness. Humans are meant to rule over the other races, not with force but through diplomacy and respect. You were meant to build bonds with other races, work together and create nations of diversity and equality." Azrael goes silent momentarily, "but you failed. Well, your race, humans, failed. They did not do as we expected. You fought against each other, killed each other and enslaved each other. You built hierarchical systems to pressure races under your rule and have discriminated against them for millennia. Humans are a failed creation that the Gods have long since lost love for."
"The gods... do not love us? What about the church? They preach about—"
"The church is an organisation, not a religion. We do not want you to live lives restrained by excessive rules. What we want is for every living being's freedom." He walks past Rose, placing Alora and Arthur in separate beds and says, "You say humans are not like Gods, but Rose, you are mistaken—humans and Gods are alike in more ways than you think. Many humans exist who desire peace and freedom. And it is those humans who I want to save from the gods' rage. It's true, the gods have long since lost the love they felt for your race. But it is not all the gods. There are gods, like myself, who have fought and will continue to fight for your continued survival." He walks up to Rose, pats her on the head and says, "I will not let any one of you die. That is a promise."