Myths Reawakened

“Bastard, stand right there and don’t move! Don’t you dare go anywhere!”

Veronica’s furious roars echoed through the underground waterways. Her clothes, shoes, and socks lay on top of her suitcase. She was getting dressed methodically, every movement precise and orderly despite the speed. She fastened each button, smoothed out wrinkles to ensure her collar was perfectly aligned, and took time to pin up her disheveled hair.

Across from her, Wayne stood there, not going anywhere. A perfect picture of obedience!

Veronica’s evolution lasted only two hours before completion. The flames dissipated, her mobility returned, and her first action was to cut off the pervert’s ‘surveillance’. Wayne had arrived moments later with her suitcase. When she saw that the bastard hadn’t fled but had come to meet his doom, she raised her fist to deliver punishment.

He tried reasoning with her. There was no changing the situation, so she might as well put her clothes on first. Once she was dressed, she could hit him multiple times. Really, he wasn’t going anywhere. He would wait for her to get dressed and let her beat him without fighting back.

Veronica covered her chest with one hand. Yes, who fought people while naked? That wouldn’t be revenge, but giving away rewards.

She glared at the pervert, telling him to wait for his punishment before quickly getting dressed.

Wayne shook his head with regret during the process. He had thought that he could watch... that something as precious as dragon blood would take Veronica several days to absorb fully, that her evolution would last much longer. But it ended in the time it took to sharpen a sword. How disappointing.

He felt sorry for her. The remaining dragon blood was too little. Over ninety-nine percent had been used by the evil god as summoning materials for the dragon, and it was just a brainless dragon that only knew how to devour talent. Such a waste of precious resources.

If all that dragon blood had been used on Veronica, maybe he could’ve watched her for two days and—maybe she could’ve evolved for two days and nights, and her evolution wouldn’t have been so rushed.

Two hours were too short.

“So, how do you want to die?”

Veronica finished dressing, her fists clenched and her knuckles white with rage as she stalked up to him step by step.

Unfazed, Wayne took two steps toward her with a concerned expression. “How are you feeling? Any part hurting? Uncomfortable in any way?”

Veronica paused, her fist unconsciously relaxing. The sudden show of concern caught her off guard. But then she remembered the diary, and her fists clenched again.

Wake up, Veronica! This scum is full of lies! Don’t be fooled by his act!

“Oh, Master? Why are you here?”

Just as she raised her fist, Wayne looked behind her in surprise. She quickly unfurled her fists and turned around to check. There was nothing and no one in the dark, phosphorescent cave.

When she turned back, Wayne had already sprinted ten meters away.

From the time when she was still attending school to after her graduation, she kept being played by this scum. She raged, crushing the rock beneath her foot with a stomp and chasing after him with clenched fists.

“Bastard, you lied again! You said you’d stand still and not run!”

“I said I wouldn’t go anywhere before you finished getting dressed. You’re already dressed.”

Wayne weaved through the waterways freely, using his advantageous knowledge of the terrain to confuse the furious Dragonblood easily. Hah! Even the real dragon couldn’t outmaneuver him!

One chased while the other one fled. It was like a scene from a coming-of-age movie.

Ten minutes later, Wayne stopped. Confirming that Veronica’s anger had diminished during their chase, he raised his hands in surrender. He’d taken all the advantage he could. Now, it was time for the inevitable beating. It was all part of the strategy to win her over. He had to let the girl know that she’d gotten her revenge, that the pervert hadn’t taken advantage of her for nothing.

Wham!

Veronica angrily rushed over and punched him in the face, sending him flying off his feet and skipping across the slippery waterway like a stone. This round of courtship was complete. He’d do it again next time.

When dealing with someone like Veronica—a young lady who expressed her affection through violence—suppressing her nature would only backfire and create distance between them. During courtship, it was necessary to take a few punches. Only by getting beaten could progress be made.

To put it bluntly, using a more scummy term, he was gaslighting her.

He was responsible for taking advantage, and Veronica was responsible for punishing him with violence. Over time, she would become conditioned to think that being taken advantage of was fine as long as she could beat him up in retaliation. And eventually, it would be like the mother of his children hitting the father of her children. Both parties were willing, and it wasn’t so much domestic violence but a romantic kink!

“Speaking of which, did that guy tame Master using the same trick?” Wayne muttered to himself, nearly cursing out loud at the possibility. What a shameless, despicable scum, gaslighting a lovely, innocent girl! Such scum should be put in a barrel of cement and thrown in the river!

Tough to others and lax to himself. Never say Wayne didn’t have double standards.

Veronica quickly came up to him. Seeing him lying on the ground covering his nose, she felt unsatisfied, her fists still itching. Without thinking, she straddled him and grabbed his collar, raising an eyebrow to snarl menacingly at him, “Run! Why aren’t you running anymore?”

“I can’t. Just go ahead and hit me. I promise...” He sniffed and blinked in surprise. “Huh? Why is Master here?”

“Haha, still trying to trick me?” She furiously punched him in the face. How much was he looking down on her, using the same trick twice? Did he think she was Vera?

“No, Master really is here, so is your father, Mr. Lando, and Butler Megan.” He struggled to get up. If the old Two-Face saw this, he’d send another blonde to seduce him. The last one was someone who knew him and thus didn’t go through with the seduction. If the man sent another celebrity next time, he was worried that he might surrender.

He struggled quite vigorously, and Veronica was nearly thrown off, surprised by his strength. She huffed, pinning him down by the shoulders and sitting back down hard.

“Get up, Veronica. They’re here.”

“Shut up! I told you not to trick me. I don’t care who’s coming.”

Ten seconds later, the Lando couple arrived at the scene, accompanied by Megan. The sight was scandalous with Veronica pinning Wayne to the ground while he struggled, looking like he was about to burst into tears.

The three visitors fell silent, and so did Veronica and Wayne.

Veronica stood up blankly, dusted herself off, and walked toward the dark depths of the tunnel without a word. She walked faster and faster. Meanwhile, Silvia covered her mouth with a hand. Megan glanced carefully at Auston, whose face was stiff and dark.

“Master, Mr. Lando, why are you here?” Wayne quickly scrambled up, his pale face reddening as he explained, “It’s not what you think. Veronica and I were just playing around. I stole her snacks.”

Auston’s mouth twitched. He had given the same explanation back then.

Silvia had a complicated look on her face. It was a good development, but... wasn’t it too fast? Young people should focus on their studies. After a brief moment of silence, she moved past the misunderstanding that didn’t seem like a misunderstanding and asked about the situation on Dragon Heart Island in a matter-of-fact tone.

“It was an evil god—Blood Worship. It had dealings with the Bart family and found a body to possess and descend in...”

Wayne recounted the whole story, starting from the family’s deal with the demon to Veronica, the dragon blood, and the ancient god the Sea God Order worshipped, leaving out nothing. There was no need to hide any detail regarding the matter. Even if he didn’t say it, Kael would. The fact that the Lando couple had rushed here showed that Kael had already submitted his report.

He only omitted his part in the story, crediting the knight, Valkyrie, for defeating the evil god. There had been no witnesses at the time, and the evil god had been banished, so as long as Valkyrie didn’t talk, no one would know that he had saved everyone.

She definitely wouldn’t. He had discussed this with her beforehand, stating that a newbie like him was too weak and needed to focus on grinding for now. Too much attention would only bring unnecessary trouble.

It was reasonable, so she agreed.

Wayne spoke the lines he had rehearsed quickly. Silvia wanted to ask for more details, but Auston shook his head to interrupt her.

This was a terrible environment for a conversation. They should move to a different place.

***

Seaside Villa.

Silvia took her daughter upstairs for a physical examination, while in the center of the living room, two black-haired men sat upright, facing each other.

Beside them was a metal suitcase, containing a knight’s armor and sword. Valkyrie was a disassemblable knight-in-a-box who could be packed in a suitcase and carried away when needed.

Megan brought black tea and silently poured a cup each for the master and the young master. Then she retreated behind the sofa, making no sound throughout.

Ignoring her presence, this was Wayne’s first time alone with Auston. Not a single awkward word was said. Both remained silent. It was their shared understanding, in a sense. There was nothing to say since they found the mere sight of each other aggravating.

Time crawled by. Megan watched them with bated breath, wondering who would break the silence first.

“Wayne, let’s go fishing!”

To Megan’s surprise, it turned out to be Vera.

She entered the living room with a bright smile, her voice arriving before her person as usual. Seeing Auston, she replaced her playful grin with a polite expression and called him ‘uncle’.

Auston broke into a smile, giving her a friendly greeting.

Veronica didn’t have many friends. After Silvia went to Palis, she had been smiling less and less, and her personality became cold. Vera was one of the two people who could break Veronica out of her shell, and she was Veronica’s college roommate. Auston was very fond of this young woman.

She was as likable as ever, even more so today.

He saw the way Vera dragged Wayne away. They were too intimate to be simple friends. Auston looked down on the perverted pretty face and pretended not to see anything, silently encouraging Vera to pursue him more proactively, preferably to just throw herself at him.

Trust your eyes, young woman. That’s a fine man you’ve picked.

His heartfelt congratulations were only given to other people’s daughters. When it wasn’t his girl, it didn’t hurt. He wouldn’t have said the same if it were Veronica.

Once the two of them left, he glanced at the suitcase in the corner and frowned deeply.

A knight of the Goddess of Sun... The situation in Londan was becoming more and more chaotic.

***

Silvia, the District High Reverend, had a busy schedule. She only made this trip to Dragon Heart Island with the excuse of investigating the evil god’s descent and wouldn’t stay long. Once she confirmed that Veronica was physically fine, her bloodline further refined, Silvia returned to the underground waterways to examine the magic circles that had been used to extract dragon blood, checking if they could still squeeze out a little more.

Unfortunately, Dragon Heart Island had been wrung dry. Not a single drop left.

She didn’t pay much mind to the Sea God Order’s faith in the ancient god. Ancient gods were elusive legends in books, an extremely ancient faith that the Church of Nature had no frame of reference for. She would simply mark the location as dangerous and report it to the church’s headquarters.

Not paying attention to it didn’t mean it wasn’t important. Quite the opposite, it was too important. So much so that the magical world had given up on interfering with the potential descent of an ancient god, opting to wait and see.

Once she finished the work at hand, she had to return to Londan. Auston stopped her. She worked every day without enjoying her life. Since they were already here, why didn’t she give herself a vacation and rest properly for a few days?

He gave a sound reason: it was a rare opportunity where the whole family was together, and the scenery on the island was quite nice. Why not accompany Veronica around the island and take photos as mementos to display at home?

To keep Silvia here, he even forced himself to include Wayne in the Lando family despite his reluctance. Yes, not just your daughter, your student is here, too!

Silvia was already wavering when Auston brought up Veronica. When he mentioned Wayne, she made the decision, giving herself two days off to forget work and spend time with her family on the island.

That day, two black cars toured the famous attractions on Dragon Heart Island. The passengers stopped to take photos at different spots. In the evening, they even organized a bonfire party on the beach.

The next day, the cars arrived at the fringe of the island’s primitive jungle and accidentally entered the temporary filming base of the King Kong crew.

Learning that their benefactor had arrived, Wallace, the director, led his team to give an enthusiastic welcome. When he saw Auston, he marveled at how handsome their benefactor was. If he had money, he would definitely be this handsome as well. After all, for men over twenty to maintain their looks, there were only two methods: self-discipline or money.

With money, anyone could be good-looking!

When he saw Silvia and Megan, Wallace came to a realization. No wonder he had no money. He wasn’t a bad enough boy! Then he saw Wayne also getting out of the car, and he gaped in silence, his gaze shifting between the black-haired and black-eyed Auston and the similar-looking Wayne, momentarily speechless.

Mate, you only said your name was Wayne, but never mentioned your surname was Lando! You’re treating me like an outsider!

I’ll kneel today. You must accept my apology.

Wallace pulled Wayne aside, whispering that his next script was already at the planning stage, and would Lando Junior please ask Lando Senior to spend a little on it? It wouldn’t need much. Just a little.

“I’m not Mr. Lando’s son, only a young master of the household. Got it?”

“Got it. About the funding...” Wallace nodded repeatedly, whispering again, “My next film is also going to feature Lily. I guarantee there’s going to be intimate scenes. You’ll be the one to call cut, so you can take as many takes and as long a take as you want.”

Nonsense, what kind of man do you take me for?

Wayne was going to leave in a huff when a blonde popped out from behind him, pointing at the actress on set. Wiggling her eyebrows, she said, “Wayne, that’s your celebrity crush. Don’t you want to get an autograph?”

She knew that Wayne had collected many posters of Lily Haworth and even written a little adult book that should be titled One Hundred Days of Marriage with My Celebrity Crush. He was a perverted superfan who had been lusting after her for quite some time.

Wayne pursed his lips. He wasn’t going to take responsibility for that. He said dismissively, “No need. I met her on the cruise ship, and the reality and imagination are too different. I’ve changed my way. I’m no longer her crush.”

???

Vera looked at him in confusion. Who was whose crush again? Why didn’t she understand?

“Besides...” He looked at her seriously. “A girl I like is a hundred times more beautiful than any celebrity. I won’t be a fanboy anymore.”

Her eyes lit up before she ran off happily.

The Lando family was chatting with the big star in question. She could get an autograph as a keepsake—to remember a defeated rival by!