I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 87: Teleportation and Return [2]
Adjusting my pace once again, I spoke.
"How much do you know about Fate’s Interface?"
I didn’t bother easing into the questions.
I asked her directly.
Lilith continued walking. For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t answer.
Then, finally, she parted her lips.
"Nothing much."
Two words. That was all she said.
Then she went silent.
Is that all she was going to say?
"It’s fine," I said. "You can tell me anything about it."
"Sighh.."
Lilith sighed.
A quiet, almost imperceptible sound.
Or maybe it was just me who was imagining it.
"It was a gift," she finally said. "Provided to those who gained control over their Authority."
A gift?
Then that means…
"That means you have it too."
She had used her Authority for a long time, maybe over a millenia. There was no way she didn’t have it.
If she did, then she could teach me more about it.
But—
"No."
Her answer was different.
"Only Solmora’s had it."
"Solmora?" I was surprised.
It was my first time hearing that word.
Lilith turned her head slightly, her blood-red eyes flickered.
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"Didn’t your Goddess tell you?"
I frowned. "No, she didn’t. What is a Solmora?"
Did Goddess Ylthea not want me to know?
Or… did she just forget?
Lilith let out a quiet breath.
"Solmora is not a thing," she said.
She slowed her steps, then continued speaking.
"The division between the gods—over the matter of division of the universe—led them to name themselves."
I listened carefully.
"The side that opposed the division was called Solmora. The side that proposed and supported it was called Noctmora."
I absorbed the information.
"The God of Fate," Lilith added, "created the Fate’s Interface exclusively for Solmoras."
So, only those who opposed the universe’s division were granted this so-called gift.
I processed her words.
"So… how many gods are on each side?"
Lilith’s gaze darkened.
"Noctmora has six gods—Dream, Void, Chaos, Memory, Will, and Desire."
"And Solmora?"
"Seven gods—Fate, Balance, Death, Life, Emotions, and Paradox."
"Wait. But Solmora had more gods, didn’t that give them an advantage?"
The distribution didn’t seem balanced to me at all. Solmora had an upper hand in numbers.
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Lilith didn’t answer immediately. She walked a few steps ahead before speaking.
"You are correct. But Noctmora had one more entity on their side, which turned the tide in their favor."
Another one?
But there were only thirteen gods. Who was this fourteenth entity?
Before I could ask, Lilith answered.
"Asmodeus."
A chill ran down my spine.
Sera, who had been silent for a while, hissed at the name.
"The Demon King, Asmodeus. The entity who rules the Demon Continent. His strength alone rivals the Supreme God Ylthea. A mere mortal who achieved godhood without any Authority."
I clenched my fists.
"As long as Noctmora has him on their side… they will be unstoppable. And they still are."
I gulped.
"S-So he’s the one who ordered this teleportation?"
Lilith nodded.
An unease settled in my chest.
"Asmodeus… How did he become a god?" I asked.
Lilith’s gaze remained forward. We kept walking.
"No one knows exactly. He was born a mortal but defied every law that governs the divine gods. Without an Authority, without the guidance of a god, he ascended on his own."
I felt my throat dry up.
A mortal… reaching godhood without divine intervention.
If he could do that, then…
"So he’s beyond normal gods, then?" I muttered.
Lilith nodded.
"His existence is proof that divinity can be obtained without the gods’ will. That’s why the Noctmora accepted him as their greatest asset."
I took a deep breath.
This was beyond anything I had imagined.
I turned to her. "Aren’t you on their side too? The Noctmora, I mean..."
Lilith finally stopped walking.
She looked at me, her blood-red eyes piercing through me.
"That’s what you think?"
I hesitated.
"You use Authority granted by the Noctmora gods, don’t you?"
She didn’t deny it.
Instead, she gave me a small, almost mocking smile.
"Authority doesn’t dictate allegiance."
"Why are you betraying them? Wouldn’t your gods know about it?"
My breath was desperate, just like this question of mine.
Lilith stopped walking, her blood-red eyes narrowing as frustration flickered across her face.
"Some things are better left untouched," she muttered, her voice laced with irritation. "Both Master and I have our reasons."
I clenched my fists.
She continued.
"And no, our gods will not know. They can’t interfere, after all."
She ended her sentence with a light chuckle, but there was something unsettling about the way she said it.
Can’t interfere? Why?
I wanted to ask, but before I could—
A blinding white flash swallowed my vision, forcing my eyes to shut.
The next moment, an overwhelming heat surged from ahead, wrapping around me like a dense force. My skin prickled as if fire itself had latched onto me.
The sheer intensity of it…
’I knew this sensation.’
The highest degree of Fire Essence.
As the light faded, I slowly opened my eyes.
I blinked in awe.
As I saw a figure in the distant sky. Towards a particular region.
A figure flying above, wings of flames dancing on her back.
Her crimson hair flowed wildly, her presence was dominating.
The very air crackled with residual fire energy she emitted.
She hadn’t even turned to face me yet, but there was no mistaking her.
A slow smile crept onto my lips.
"Causing disasters wherever she goes, huh?"
Truly worthy of a Rank-7 title.
We hurried our pace.
Lilith spoke.
"We have arrived."
Her voice carried no excitement, no relief—just a simple statement of fact.
I exhaled sharply, scanning the surroundings.
A wide wasteland stretched before us, smoke erupted from the impact of Ruby’s skill, it was the location for teleportation.
"I will commence the teleportation in three minutes," she added.
Three minutes.
That wasn’t a lot of time.
I gave her a short nod before turning on my group, weaving my way toward the group of students gathered around Ruby.
No time to waste.
We needed to get out of this damn place.
To be Continued…
