Myths Reawakened

“Out of the question...” Atori’s voice rose an octave before he quickly caught himself, lowering his voice for Mona’s sake. “You saw the sacrifice she had to make. If she stays with the devilish man, she may lose her purity.”

He touched her bottom last night. Tonight, he might touch her chest. Then she would be pregnant by the day after tomorrow.

“Can you find the portal? If you let her go now, we’ll lose our lead. Then where are we going to look for Bruce, and how are we going to stop the Thousand-Eyed Demon?” Gunther glared at Atori. When Atori was about to say something else, he interrupted him, “No matter what the demon’s plan is, it’ll destroy the church’s presence in Londan at the least. What right do you have to let your soft heart lead you? Wait until you become the Archbishop!”

Atori’s face flushed with rage as he panted and glared at Gunther. “Sending Father’s child to the demon to drive the demon away? How are we different from demons?”

That’s the difference between being responsible for individuals and being responsible for a city! Gunther didn’t voice his response. He glanced at Atori and shared his speculation.

“You suspect that Bruce isn’t under the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s control, and he intentionally let Mona bring the information to us?” Atori was at first shocked, but on second thought, it was possible.

It was only an unproven hypothesis, though, with no evidence supporting it.

Their whispered conversation was overheard by Mona. The white bands wrapping around her body remained blank until a line of text slowly emerged: “Archbishop, Captain, I’m willing to go undercover despite the potential sacrifice.”

The demon was right about one thing: if someone had to sacrifice themselves, why couldn’t it be her? If many could lose their lives, why couldn’t she lose everything instead?

Atori was both moved and angered by her determination. He turned to Gunther furiously. The old man had to be doing this on purpose. He could’ve had the conversation outside the room!

Gunther had indeed done it on purpose. He said with a sigh, “Mona, you’re an incredible clergy member with unquestionable faith. Don’t worry. I won’t let your purity be corrupted by sins.”

He manipulated the holy light circle to isolate the evil thoughts in her body and seal them perfectly, allowing Mona to hear Bruce’s whispers without being manipulated. And since the evil thoughts were only sealed rather than driven out, Bruce wouldn’t notice that Mona had broken out of his control.

Gunther narrowed his eyes. Not only would Mona retain her will while undercover, but she would also be able to test if Bruce was under the control of the Thousand-Eyed Demon. That was the key!

With the seal completed, the white bands scattered. Mona stood calmly, feeling no depression or despair for the tragic fate she would inevitably meet.

“This sense of sacrifice... If only it were you...” Gunther muttered to himself. “How’s the detective agency? How is your investigation progressing?”

“Wayne’s wary of me. I’m almost never alone with him,” Mona said resignedly. Compared to the college girls surrounding her boss, she was quite old.

“That’s fine. After this matter settles down, I’ll make a request to the detective agency. Follow him then, and you’ll surely find something.”

After that, Gunther gave Mona a pointed look and said solemnly, “Your willingness to make a sacrifice is commendable, but the church hasn’t reached a point where young people like you need to sacrifice themselves. Don’t give yourself too much pressure. I’ll prepare the list for you to hand to Bruce tonight. Keep your eyes open. He trusts you now, so you can use that to get more information from him.”

More information? Mona thought with surprise. Then she nodded in understanding.

But other than that... why did they have a list?

“Why do you have a list? You know the cultists hiding in Londan?” Atori asked in disapproval. Gunther had another network of intelligence without him knowing.

“Some, not much,” Gunther said simply. He did have an independent network. It was related to the Windsor royal family—the Free Mage Alliance, to be more precise. The alliance would follow any faith without discrimination, including the hellish type.

Gunther had once worked with them. After wiping out some of the faiths, he left a few incompetent nobodies untouched as lures. Stopping demons from descending was like guarding a city. A demon could fail ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times. One success would be a total victory.

On the other hand, the church could not afford to lose even once.

Gunther had been an archbishop for many years, making him flexible rather than stubborn like Atori was. To protect the city, he wouldn’t mind pulling some underhanded tricks. He had to keep his priorities in mind. He knew what he had to do at every moment, even when working with Bruce.

That was his code of conduct as the Archbishop!

***

That night, at eleven o’clock, Wayne emerged from the sewers and arrived at Mona’s place at the agreed time. He had ordered Do to keep watch for three hours before coming. He found out that Mona had returned home alone, with no ambush in place.

It was good news to him, but also bad news. He had gone to such lengths to send a signal, but the church didn’t even have its antenna up.

“No wonder you’ve fallen this far. All of your minds have dulled. You deserve to be oppressed...” Wayne picked the lock with two paper clips and entered. When he saw Mona sitting in an upright posture on the sofa, he scoffed. “You knew I was coming, but didn’t open the door. Don’t you want your reward?”

Mona’s face darkened. She didn’t seem eager to respond.

He huffed with irritation, saying tentatively, “It’s summer. Why are you wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants? Take them off.”

She glared at him furiously. Hearing the voice coming from the seal in her mind, she reluctantly stripped her clothes off.

So white!

Wayne’s eyebrows jumped, his disappointment compounded. It seemed that she wouldn’t have the list he wanted. He shot her a glare and said, “You’re all elegant in appearance, but have such terrible taste in undergarments. You look horrid. Go put on your stockings.”

Mona silently put stockings on. Staring at the defenseless Wayne, she wanted nothing more than to stab him to death, but she couldn’t.

An undercover agent should act like one. She was ready to sacrifice everything.

“Have you brought what I need?” Wayne asked.

“I do.”

Mona took a folder from a drawer and handed it to him. He opened it and checked it with a frown. There were exactly sixty-six people listed!

“This...” He smothered a gasp of surprise and stared viciously at Mona. “What is your role in the church? Be honest and don’t try to hide anything.”

“A member of the tactical unit, in charge of killing demon followers,” Mona enunciated every word while keeping her gaze on him.

Why are you looking at me? I’m not a demon, only an undercover agent, understand? I just seem like one.

Wayne reviewed the document once more. He was certain that the information he gave away was received loud and clear. He stood corrected. The Church of Heavenly Father was able to remain in power for millennia for a reason. At least there was no shortage of smart people among them. However...

While reading the list, he glanced at Mona, clad in only her undergarments and stockings. How unfortunate! Those who wielded holy light were despicable. To acquire information, they even sacrificed a kind, honest woman. Even he pitied her for that.

That can’t be the case. I must have overthought this.

He lowered the file. If possible, he hoped his allies would be as righteous as he was, rather than going after a demon by acting like one themselves.

“Here, sit.”

He patted his thighs, telling Mona to sit on him. He could sense that his thoughts still existed in her body. He hoped that the church wouldn’t stoop so low that they would stop at nothing for information.

She clenched her fists, sitting down on his lap with a long face.

(一`´一)

Wait, something’s wrong!

He had only told her to do it rather than make an order with his thoughts. If she did it despite that...

You can resist my orders already, can’t you?

He patted on her stockinged legs and stared at her impassive profile, suddenly feeling like teasing a pure—no, things were just getting more interesting.

See? I didn’t force her. She volunteered.

“Get off me. You’re too heavy.” He drove away the indecent clergywoman and put away the list, hitting her chest with the alchemy book. “Your second mission: prepare all the materials listed in the book. I’ll get them tomorrow.”

“Remember, you will not miss anything. I want every item prepared!!”

Mona looked at Wayne in confusion. Why would he so easily hand her something as important as the alchemy book? Was the Archbishop right? Did he trust her so much?

No, it couldn’t be as simple as trust...

She narrowed her eyes and came up with an improbable possibility. She decided to extract more information from him and confirm her speculations.

So she sat back on his lap.

“???”