Antihero In the Hero Academy: I Can Connect the Past Heroes
Chapter 232: Begenning of the Final War

Chapter 232: Begenning of the Final War

"I’m sorry. You may not believe me, but I remember everything very clearly: the names of each of my children, when I created them or gave birth to them... I know everything. I made mistakes... no, I made choices, too many choices, and I created too many miscarriages. I created too many deaths and too many nightmares for you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it."

When Nyx spoke these words suddenly, Epioles looked at her and then said, "I’m angry, Mother... You are someone who could destroy me with a single thought, but I hate you more than I fear you... even though I love you so much. I’m disappointed. Even if you are a goddess, playing this goddess game too much has angered me. I accept your apology, but... I don’t think my love for you will remain the same... I can’t imagine it."

Nyx wasn’t angry; it was easy to see how deeply saddened she was, but Nyx chose not to be angry—she had no right to be.

This reminded the ancient goddess of what her son had said to her a short time ago:

[Just like Artemis said. Your foolish thoughts, your old ways... Each one of them is leading to the destruction of the world. You’re not helping anyone just because Chaos ordered it. None of you are good. None of you think rationally, and you choose to obey the commands of a creator who no longer cares about the world! Damn all of you. From beginning to end, from my father to my mother, from my mother to my siblings, and every god and goddess who has ever existed!]

Epioles’s plan had not merely created a simple chaos; it had suddenly shifted the focus of everything. When Nyx told her other children, "You know what to do," she meant it in the truest sense. Every Chaos-Born would now abandon those games. Perhaps not every human or elf, dwarf or pixie could receive sponsorship like Atlas, but there was no rule saying they couldn’t receive blessings.

Epioles... had opened the door to a new era, a new hope... no, he had shattered that door and offered the light of day directly to the Goddess of Night.

After some time had passed, Nyx had a long conversation with Atlas, and as a result, it was clearly stated that more blessings would be given to mortals. Of course, not everyone would receive a blessing; after all, the gods and goddesses also had an image to uphold.

Instead, Nyx had proposed the idea of granting blessings to those who truly deserved them, rather than hesitating to do so. Of course, every god and goddess had accepted this.

Within just one week, tens of thousands of blessings had been bestowed upon people in different parts of the world. These individuals had been selected specifically because they had never done anything evil in their lives. After all, no god or goddess wanted their blessings to be used for evil purposes.

After everything, Atlas and Juliet naturally managed to close the other demonic gateway as well, and another barrier was erected in the area after their assistance.

When everything that had happened between Epioles and Nyx was told to Atlas, Atlas naturally sided with Epioles. After all, he was aware of it too... the gods and goddesses were overly stingy. One would have to be a fool not to understand that, and Atlas was certainly not a fool.

Still, the events of the past week... the fact that even Irene and Juliet, along with the other Sages, had received blessings, had made it clear to Atlas how serious a place the sacred realm had become.

Meanwhile, during this one-week period, news had come from Archangel Michael himself. This news had been directly conveyed to Hermes and from there to Atlas.

According to Michael, the false paradise, the realm where the angels resided, had been completely cleansed. After Hermes left the realm and the angels fell from the sky, the gateway had closed completely.

There was no longer any way for the angels to enter or exit. Of course, unless Atlas wanted to use the Life Stone in his heart to do so.

All obstacles had been removed, at least on the angels’ side.

When Michael, who had been imprisoned for millions of years, came out, the first thing he did was, naturally, to commit a massacre, and every traitor was eliminated.

Gabriel and a few other Archangels had their positions restored, while the remaining Archangels were tortured, and then their powers were taken from them so they could never use their sacred powers again. After that, they were locked in cages, just like Michael had been.

Cages that would never be opened again.

Even if the gate were to open, they had become beings who could no longer use their powers.

It was a pity.

A great pity.

The war had taken a sudden turn in favour of Atlas and, naturally, the Sages with the killing of Xezbeth and other demons skilled in mind control and deception.

This time, the attackers would be the Sages and Atlas, not the demons.

The opposing forces had been greatly weakened.

Thanks to the presence of an Ancient Dragon like Cosmo, a Sage like Cordelia, and others, standing up to the six ancient demons would not be easy, but it would not be difficult either.

The final battle could now begin.

Preparations had been made. For a whole month, everything had been continuously corrected, and the battle process had begun.

At least, that’s what Atlas and the others thought.

The Sages and Cosmo, along with Eva and the other seven aura masters by their side, had already entered the massive barrier. The battle had begun, with the six ancient demons, tens of thousands of high-ranking demons, and the group protecting the world facing off against each other.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Thanks to Xezbeth, hundreds of demon gates had begun to open all over the world.

Cassandra was no longer around, so the entire communication system was being managed by Iso himself.

Atlas had given a direct order.

Even though Cassandra was gone, every vampire in the world was under her command, and when she said this, she wasn’t just talking about one thing; she was talking about every single vampire.

Atlas’s order went directly to Sullivan Leonardi and his entire lineage.

The Vampire Duke Sullivan, who had settled on one of the eastern continents, had mobilised the nearly two million-strong vampire group under his command within days.

Vampires were a race that did not need food or water; mana was sufficient for them. Contrary to expectations, the sun did not harm them, but their proximity to Nyx made them extra powerful at night.

Meanwhile, every force of the Epsilon Empire had been mobilised, and the Kingdom of Akairon had become a bridge between the Epsilon Empire and the Great Elf Kingdom of Bijoux.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of people passed through the Kingdom of Akairon, and preparations for war were becoming more serious.

Atlas had directly taught the use of the Runes of Strike and Destruction to those he knew and believed capable.

Among these individuals were Aether and Aelia Epsilon, Emma Fort, Thalia Bijoux, Lucia, Lisa and Lyra Leonardi, Irene Luis and Irene Fang, and several prominent nobles who were professors at Globe Academy.

Atlas was not alone; he had millions of people under his command, and he was not exaggerating when he said this—millions of people truly acted solely on his orders.

He was no longer the child who had come to the academy a few years ago. He was now someone backed by the support of the 7 Sages and every aura master who existed at his sister’s request, and he himself was a Duke of the Epsilon Empire.

That wasn’t all. Nyx’s ’Church of the Night’ was directly at Atlas’s command. After all, Atlas was already as valuable as a goddess in their eyes, and that made everything easier.

The Church of the Night was the largest church in the world, and they served the most powerful being behind the creator of existence, and that person, Nyx, had only one shadow on the world at that moment:

Atlas.

This had mobilised the church’s army of millions.

The orders were clear: destroy every demon you see.

Atlas had taken Emma and every soldier capable of performing well in battle directly under his command.

The First Division of the Old Empire Army, now under Atlas’ command, consisted of 60 high-ranking mages and over 3,000 pure-blooded vampires who had chosen to serve Atlas as their lord.

Atlas now held the power to destroy an entire country.

They had begun advancing toward their first target region. More accurately, they were already within their target area. The far northwestern corner of the Epsilon Empire—the most remote and coldest region, as some called it—the port city of Shorekeeper was now under demonic occupation.

An army exceeding three thousand had directly moved out from the Shadowfall Palace region.