"Alright, let's begin." I sat on a nearby rock, glancing at everyone's face.
The other three slouched down in front of me.
Clearing my throat, I began.
"Long ago, the—"
Anna interrupted. "I'll hit you with a rock, if you make it sound dramatic or cringe."
"…Y-Yeah, sorry, let me continue." I said, looking to the side avoiding her gaze.
"Ahem. This world has two main continents…"
First: The Human Continent, where we humans reside, this continent is divided into five great nations: Frostvile, Pyrestone, Stormshade, Aquadore, and Terranova. Each rich with its own Elemental Essence and follow the basic law of Elementals.
Second: The Demon Continent, where all the demons and monsters reside, this continent shares its border with Pyrestone and Frostvile, which is why they are in constant threat.
Just like the Human Continent, the Demon Continent also has five kingdoms. But we only know the name of one Kingdom: Tartarus.
"Why is that?" Julius asked.
"That's because the Kingdom of Tartarus is the one situated near our border." I answered.
"Wait, I'm confused." Anna raised her hand. "Who named it 'Tartarus'? Didn't you say that its geography is still unknown? So who told you it has five kingdoms? It's not like some demon casually walked up to our border one day and announced, 'Hello, fellow humans! I'm a demon, and I live in Tartarus,' right?"
"Exactly, you are correct Anna," I nodded my head.
"Wait what!?" She blinked, "Are you messing—"
Cutting her words I continued.
"It was a Fallen. Two years ago, four single Rankers captured a Fallen alive, they tortured it for months, and soon after, it spilled everything."
'I was one of those four single rankers.'
"…"
"…"
"…"
The three leaned forward, curiosity shining in their eyes. Anna who was uninterested just a moment ago, was now attentive.
I continued.
"That's not all, the Demon Continent, also has five elementals just like us humans, and they follow the same principles of Elemental law….."
This whole world is in a state of equilibrium, if one kingdom falls, then the others will too.
Monsters and Demons are no exception, they, too, have ranks.
Information mention in one research paper suggested that: The higher intelligence demons like Fallen and Dragonit rules the place, while lower intelligence monsters treated as slaves.
From F to SSS+ Rank, monsters and demons were classified into their respective categories.
There's a huge difference between a 'Monster' and a 'Demon'.
The intelligent beings were called 'Demons,' while the rest were simply 'Monsters.'
"That's actually weird," Julius commented.
"I agree," Anna added, "Who decided this ranking system? A child? It's so childish, at least choose something like 'The Primordial', it will sound so badass."
"They actually have something similar…" I said, looking at Anna.
"Huh? What? Tell me." Anna's eyes glittered with curiosity.
"We… don't know. The Fallen died before revealing anything more."
"What the actual fuck!?" Anna shot up from the ground. "How did he die? Wasn't he supposed to be—"
"How should I know?" I cut her off. "You're asking like I was there."
'Well actually I was.'
The reason the Fallen died was because, the Rank-2 hero tortured him so brutally, that it bit his own tongue and committed suicide.
That man is really creepy. I always distance myself from him.
Just thinking about him gave me chills.
I continued.
"For example…"
We might encounter some goblins here— one could use Fire Elemental, while other might use Water Elemental, that's completely normal. The reason for it was, one goblin born in a Kingdom rich with Fire Essence, while the other is born in a Kingdom rich with Water Essence. Just like us human's, their Essence weakens if they travelling to another Kingdom.
We are all bound by the Elementals— a cage crafted by nature itself.
Clap!
"And that's concluded my lecture," I said clapping both my hands.
The other three exchanged glances before Aria raised her hand to ask.
"How do you know all this?"
Looking at her, I answered.
"I really like Elemental and World History. I've read various research papers covering these topics."
"Hmm… I almost forgot, you ranked first in the written test." Aria nodded, satisfied by my answer.
I stood up, looking down at them I spoke.
"Alright, now that the History lesson is over, let's rest before heading out to find our classmates."
"!"
Upon hearing this, the three of them flinched.
We have to move out, by staying in one place we can't expect anyone to find and save us.
Nobody is coming.
The Heroes didn't know the students were teleported to the Demon Continent.
This place would be their last guess.
And till the time they found out, it'll be too late.
Demon Continent is no joke.
As the former No. 1 Hero, it's my responsibility.
I was once their hope.
They named me Hope.
But that Hope is… dead.
I'm the only choice they have.
Otherwise…
'They'll all be dead.'
There's no time for jokes.
Someone orchestrated this whole thing.
It must be an intelligence Demon.
Haaaaah…
"We'll move out after twenty minutes of rest," I gazed around, meeting everyone's eye, "make your preparation, ready your weapons."
My tone was commanding and serious.
If I have to expose a bit of my power to save them, then so be it.
My ego is worth nothing compared to their lives.
***
Hero Association:
In the pristine office of the Hero Association, four figures stood before a large glass desk, their faces covered with masks.
The man seated behind the desk, was none other than—Markus Bloodstone. The president of Hero Association.
The four standing before him were not ordinary heroes, they were single-digit ranked heroes.
Two of them were women—one with crimson-red hair, Rank-7 Hero Pride, and the other with jet-black hair, the newly promoted Rank-3 Hero Envy.
The remaining two were men—Rank-2 Justice, and Rank-9 Greed.
All of their faces were concealed by a mask.
The atmosphere was thick with tension.
But Envy's loud voice shattered the silence.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING?!"
Her voice rang through the office, reverberating the walls.
"Master…" Pride worriedly glanced at Envy.
Silence.
Her outburst was justified, after all her own child was among the missing students.
Markus, exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples, "We did find something… but we are uncertain about it."
Envy's eye burned with rage and frustration.
"What do you mean?"
The other three exchanged glances.
Markus taped his desk and clicked a button to activated a three-dimensional map of the Human Continent, containing every city, road, and town in precise detail.
"We deployed over a thousand heroes," Markus continued. "But there's no trace of the students anywhere."
Greed frowned. "That doesn't make sense."
"It does, actually."
All eyes turned to Pride.
She pointed towards a specific location on the map— Lunar Phoenix.
Pride continued.
"A large-scale teleportation… caused in this region, by some artifact powerful enough to transport all of them to another continent."
A dreadful silence.
Envy, Greed, and Justice froze.
They all understood what Pride was implying.
Markus leaned forward. "You're correct. Our best speculation is that the missing students were teleported to the Demon Continent."
The temperature dropped.
Justice swallowed hard. "T-This is ridiculous… You called us here to go there and save those brats—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a cold aura resonated in the air. Envy's sword was at his throat, stopping his words in their tracks.
"Watch your words." Her voice was dangerously low.
Justice smirked, "Jeez… relax. You think you can take me on?"
Envy didn't flinch. "Why don't you try?"
BAANG!
Markus slammed his hand against the desk, drawing everyone's attention.
"Enough." He ordered, leaving no room for arguments. "We don't have any other choice. Some of the students belong to the high officials of the Hero Association. If something happens to them, our funding will be cut."
Envy and Pride after hearing his words wore the same expression:
Disgust.
Justice chuckled. "Then why don't you call your so-called Hope? If it's him, he can handle three or four Fallen all by himself." The bitterness in his tone.
Markus met his gaze. "Hope is already near the Demon Continent. He'll join you on the way."
At the mention of Hope, Envy and Pride exchanged glances but they remained silent, their eyes landed on Markus.
Then, Markus assigned their mission.
"Envy, you will lead this operation until you meet with Hope. Your objective is to retrieve these missing students—alive."
He pushed four stacks of paper across the desk.
Each containing detailed names and features of every missing student.
Envy picked up her copy.
Scanning through it.
Her eyes widened.
'How disgusting…' She thought inwardly.
The list was divided into two sections—Priority Students and Students.
Envy's lips curled in irritation.
"Tsk…" Standing beside her, Pride let out a small scoff, her expression too twisted in disgust.
But then—
Their eyes landed on a particular name under the Students section.
Zane Skylark.
Relief and satisfaction flashed across Envy's and Pride's faces.
Envy smiled, for the first time after entering the office.
'They are all safe.' Envy thought.
'Just hang on for a bit… I'm coming.' Pride thought.
End of Chapter.