Chapter 57

The students were startled.

The light that burst out like an explosion as soon as the lid of the chest was opened was unusual.

— It’s, it’s the Holy Grail!

The identity of the item contained in the chest was indeed the Holy Grail.

It was none other than the teacup that Harden had enjoyed using to drink tea during his lifetime.

Although it looked crude, it was a powerful holy relic, enough that water placed in that holy grail even for a moment would become premium holy water with immense holy power.

— Oh!

— Worship it!

Quite a few students were on the verge of shedding tears just by looking at the supreme holy relic.

And the priests, having carefully placed the Holy Grail in the center of the altar, knelt in a circle around it.

It was the start of the ritual to call the professor.

— The faithful servant of Hiloa requests the calling of the messenger. Have pity on the sheep living on the earth and personally bestow teachings upon them, and with the sharp eyes that destroy evil…

The priests began to chant the prayer in unison.

Ooooh— Wooaaah—

The unique resonance of the Great Temple of Nerchiora began to grow louder and louder accordingly.

Even when the ritual reached its climax,

‘As expected, this is where the crisis begins.’

The dark mana inside Roan even began to boil.

It was at a level similar to when he was hit by Harden’s ‘Sanctuary Creation’ holy spell on the entrance ceremony day!

In a way, it was natural.

The ritual the priests were performing now was to make this Great Prayer Hall into a kind of sanctuary.

And thereby, to cause a being that normally could not set foot on earth to descend.

Worship him—— The glorious messenger of Hiloa is coming——!

The resonance of the Great Temple, which had been nothing more than a sound, now became a distinct voice and began to sing a hymn.

A miraculous moment that an ordinary person would not experience in a lifetime!

However, right in the middle of that moment, especially to some students including Roan, this thought occurred.

‘Do we really have to go this far just to attend a single class?’

Even if this was Acherandir, wasn’t performing this every week too much of a waste?

…Of course, most of the students were deeply moved without such irreverent thoughts.

Just then.

A huge window finished with pane glass above the altar in the Great Prayer Hall.

The sunlight coming through it began to grow stronger and stronger.

— Look at that!

The students were astonished.

By that point, anyone could tell it was not a natural phenomenon.

Especially, that the light descending from the sky grew so strong meant…

— It’s, it’s a descent!

It was a sign of a descent, summoning a holy being that should not exist on earth through an artificial ritual.

Finally, the light of descent spread rapidly, filling the Great Prayer Hall.

Around the time when the students lost their sense of space, unable to even open their eyes properly because of it,

From the ceiling of the Great Prayer Hall, a certain.

Indescribable.

Vast and holy.

Being beyond existence began to reveal itself.

Roan struggled to somehow suppress the dark mana that was about to lose control and run wild, warning his friends.

“Never… never look at the eyes! You’d rather lower your head or close your eyes!”

At his urgent voice, his friends did their best to avoid looking at the descending being, just as they had been told.

“W-What is that?!”

Sion closed her eyes tightly, clasped her hands to pray, and shouted.

“It’s an angel! The professor for this class is an angel!”

“??!?!?!?!!”

Roan also raised his voice to somehow prevent his consciousness from slipping away.

The heavenly realm was largely composed of three categories: gods, apostles, and angels.

A god was a god in the literal sense, who lived in the very ancient Age of God-Men and acquired divinity.

An apostle was a demigod, a saint after the Age of God-Men who went up to the heavenly realm upon receiving the call of the gods.

An angel was a divine creature created by the gods by separating a part of their own divinity.

Although an angel was a creature, it was still a creature of a different class.

A difference in level that a human dared not even look at.

No matter how transcendental his talent was,

the level of existence of an angel was too vast and dangerous for a young black mage who had only awakened for about a week to endure.

Just then.

Several freshmen, who either didn’t hear Roan’s warning or didn’t understand what he meant even if they did, screamed.

— Aaargh!

— No, no way!

They were either covering their faces or tearing at their hair.

‘The Angel of Direct Stare, Eukerim!’

Roan inwardly cried out the true name of this professor.

Eukerim possessed the ability to make any being that met its eyes realize their own essence.

Those who harbored even a slightly devious mind.

Those who lacked faith.

Those who were greedy.

Those who felt envy and jealousy.

In fact, if it were a human, they would be unable to endure their contradictions and faults rushing in like a storm all at once, writhing in pain.

The screaming freshmen had met eyes with it without realizing it.

“H-How long do we have to keep our eyes closed, Roan!”

“Until the descent is finished! You just have to endure until then!”

How on earth was every single class survival itself!

Roan was extremely aggrieved.

In the game, just being in the place where Eukerim descended greatly reduced one’s sanity stats,

and if one looked at the eyes, they would receive a permanent sanity reduction penalty.

Back then, he had thought lightly that he just shouldn’t look at the eyes, but to think it would be to this extent!

However.

in this desperate situation where even the experienced priests, let alone the freshmen, were struggling not to fall into temptation,

someone’s relaxed voice was heard.

“Roan, but the professor’s entire body is eyes? Is it even possible not to look?”

“…?”

It was Demona.

Roan looked at the seat next to him where Demona was sitting with squinted eyes, unable to believe it.

Surprisingly, Demona was looking back and forth between Roan and Eukerim with a perfectly fine expression.

‘W-What is this punk?’

No, this was not a matter of being surprised or not.

Eukerim’s ‘Direct Stare’ should be unavoidable for a human?

“Are you… okay?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, do you not see your past.”

“Ah. What about it? It’s just me, isn’t it?”

Roan’s mouth fell wide open, speechless.

“Y-Yes. It is indeed you…”

It was not a wrong statement.

“So, I’m asking how not to look at the professor’s eyes?”

“…You just look.”

If there was no problem even if she looked, it was naturally up to her.

Even putting aside whether that was possible…

While Roan was feeling extreme dumbfoundedness, Eukerim’s descent finally ended.

The holy light that seemed to fill Acherandir subsided,

and soon the students could see Eukerim’s appearance.

The reactions of the students facing an angel for the first time in their lives were generally similar.

— Is, is that really an angel?

— Ugh…

Unlike the beautiful form they had heard and seen in all stories and holy paintings,

it was not even in human form in the first place, but rather a shape with a huge eye in the center and four white wings.

Furthermore, eyeballs were densely embedded in every single feather that made up the wings.

Several weak-stomached students even dry-heaved secretly.

“See? I told you there’s no way not to look at the eyes.”

Demona shrugged, looking at her pale friends.

Hector said in a dazed voice.

“Y-Yes… you are right.”

There really was no way not to look!

Anyway, Eukerim’s eyes floating above the altar moved individually, observing the students.

…It was too grotesque a sight to be called an angel.

Rafia whispered to Roan.

“Roan. Just asking in case… are demons by any chance full of ears or noses?”

Roan shook his head.

“No. Demons look normal.”

“Whew…”

The students who heard that let out a sigh of relief.

Since so many things out of the ordinary were happening, the students found peace of mind in strange places.

To Eukerim, who was rolling its numerous eyes, a priest bowed flat on the ground and said,

“O Angel of Direct Stare, this servant of Hiloa begs you to bestow teachings upon these foolish lambs in accordance with the oath of the Holy Spirit Harden.”

At that, Eukerim responded.

[“The oath with the supreme Holy Spirit who protects the earth was personally witnessed by Hiloa, and with the guarantee of heaven and earth, it shall be firmly kept this time as well.”]

— Oh!

Angels basically used the Gospel.

However, it was not the Gospel of holy spells similar to telepathy like Harden used, but the true Gospel that was holily delivered to everyone.

Of course, multiple transmission was possible for the Gospel of holy spells as well, but it was like the difference between a bird flying naturally and flying using magic.

The Gospel of holy spells was merely an imitation of the Angel’s Gospel.

Anyway, the priests who heard Eukerim’s response cheered, and the students were fascinated by the Gospel they heard for the first time.

— It must be an angel.

— Yeah…

Eukerim spoke to the students this time.

[“O lambs of the holy land’s vegetation, I, Eukerim, say: though my form may be a shape you have never seen before, this too was formed in accordance with Hiloa’s strict order. Therefore, do not fear, and if you follow the shepherd’s guidance, wisdom shall fill the place where anxiety and worry once resided.”]

It was a warm and holy voice, but for some reason, the students got a headache.

Because they heard a manner of speaking that seemed written in scriptures directly, they couldn’t understand the content well.

“It means don’t be scared and listen to the class well.”

“Oh, so that was what it meant.”

Roan kindly summarized Eukerim’s words.

Unless it descended for combat purposes, the angel’s explosive energy was a story only applicable during descent.

Now Roan’s inner self was also sufficiently stabilized, allowing him to regain his composure.

[“Eukerim says: since this place is to grasp the inner self of you lambs, there is absolutely no need to fear fighting the enemies of Hiloa from now on. You can only move forward with that bravery to shine the light of the world.”]

As Eukerim continued, his friends now naturally turned to Roan.

Like with Riel, they were thinking of Roan as an interpreter.

“He says he’ll tell us each our attribute, so beat the bad guys up well.”

Nod-nod—

As expected of Roan!

Of course, while there were students who accepted it so readily,

“But why does he speak like that? Is he uncomfortable somewhere? He does look like that—”

“If you want to have all the talants you earned from managing the Divine Tree taken away, keep talking.”

“Gasp!”

there were also students who thought like Demona.

…No, maybe it was only Demona.

Since there could not be another irreverent student who treated an angel like someone in need of help.

Flinch— Flinch—

For some reason, students flinching could be seen here and there, but Roan tried hard to ignore them.

Anyway, at Roan’s brutal warning, Demona blocked her mouth with her own hand.

Fortunately, the priests were also too preoccupied with serving Eukerim, so there was no further fining.

Indeed, if caught, it wouldn’t have ended with just a fine.

[“Eukerim says: I am the guiding shepherd of this vicinity, and awakening the lambs is indeed the duty I received from Hiloa. If there is anyone suffering from the fog of knowledge, do not hesitate to ask.”]

“He says if you have anything you’re curious about, ask.”

“Me!”

Flash—!

As soon as she heard Roan’s interpretation, Demona raised her hand immediately.

It was a sight she was familiar with now since she had seen it so much, but

— Wicronon says what she wants even to an angel!

— As expected!

this time she received even more attention because the target was an angel.

Numerous eyes of Eukerim focused on Demona at the same time.

It was a rather bizarre sight, but Demona asked nonchalantly.

“By any chance, do your eyes not hurt when you fly? I feel like they would tear up!”

— How dare she to the Angel of Direct Stare…!

— Oh dear…

At the same time, veins bulged on the priests’ foreheads.

‘It seems she just chose to receive a fine.’

Roan thought it was self-inflicted.