Myths Reawakened

Dark swirls occupied the dome above, with dense lightning crackling all around. Below, crimson lava rivers flowed across the landscape, winding between red mountain ranges. Neither the origin nor the destination was in sight. The pungent smell of sulfur mingled with scorching heat and assaulted the humans’ senses. They could tell it was the actual hell rather than a false projection. Their hearts thumped with terror.

They were too late. The Thousand-Eyed Demon had already opened the gates of hell!

The church members looked grim, especially their leader, Gunther. He suddenly recalled what the demon had said on the top floor of the library: humans thought they had figured out the patterns of demons’ descent, but demons had come to know humans just as well; they were evolving too.

Renata charged in wielding her holy light spear, and Gunther followed, clutching the Sacred Tome of Golden Law. No matter what, the church bore the heavy responsibility of preventing demons from descending to the mortal realm. It was their belief and the principle that he would not back down on.

“Wait here. Don’t make pointless sacrifices,” Atori shouted his orders, directing the tactical unit to evacuate in an orderly fashion.

With hell being connected to the human world, no matter how small a part it seemed to be, a demon’s power would skyrocket. Under such circumstances, a mage would have to be Gold-rank to even serve as a punching bag. The tactical unit, averaging at the Silver Cross rank, simply wasn’t strong enough.

Obed frowned with a thoughtful look. Instead of stepping into hell immediately, he waved his hand to open a portal so that the tactical unit could evacuate quickly.

“Hurry. The space here is unstable, so the rift the angel tore open won’t exist forever. If you don’t go now, you won’t be able to later.”

Without hesitation, the tactical unit followed their captain’s order and departed in order. Obed didn’t go into hell after they had all left, after the opening leading to hell had mended, and even after the space had stabilized.

It was too dangerous!

The legendary mage was unwilling to take the risk. He chose to trust that the church would be able to ensure mutual destruction with the demon since they had the angel and the Golden Law. Even if Gunther or Atori somehow survived, Obed wasn’t worried about being questioned later. He had done something. He helped the tactical unit escape and preserve the seeds of hope for the Church of Heavenly Father to rise again. They should thank him!

He hesitated no more. Turning on his heels, he fled faster than a rabbit.

His speedy retreat was typical of a free mage.

***

Meanwhile, in the red mountain ranges, the Thousand-Eyed Demon sat high on his throne. Pained groans escaped his mouth occasionally as his figure flickered. His soul was fragmenting and reassembling while traversing the passage between worlds, but the pain came with the pleasure of his thoughts gradually growing stronger.

“Bruce, are you ready yet?” the Thousand-Eyed Demon asked hoarsely with a hint of impatience.

“Almost. Just about ready.”

Stop rushing me. I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t. Because I’m not in a hurry at all.

Wayne’s tone also became impatient. It was time to reveal his true colors; he was getting tired of the act.

Ha, there’s never a Bruce! I’ll show you the power of the undead greatsword!

He didn’t know how powerful the Thousand-Eyed Demon was now, nor whether the Death Knight’s disguise would be enough to defeat the demon. He estimated that his chance was at best fifty-fifty on his own, and quite possibly lower. However, it wasn’t a problem. For fear of winning this battle, the Thousand-Eyed Demon had chosen a difficulty worse than hell mode—the holy crap difficulty; he had personally handed Wayne a legendary weapon.

The territory of molten lava!

The territory was unclaimed, left behind by the Lord of Pride like the altar. Whoever became the territory’s master would gain the authority of a lord. Simply put, the original owner, the Lord of Pride, held priority, but now that he had given up his right over the land and withdrawn from the competition, other competitors would have to undergo the altar’s reincarnation ritual to become lord.

While the ritual itself wasn’t complex, the altar was extremely so, combining the power of the Golden Law and the Divine Comedy, far from as simple as the Thousand-Eyed Demon believed.

According to the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s speculation, the great demon god of Pride had combined the powers of heaven and hell and cleverly circumvented heaven’s seal on hell, exploiting a bug that allowed demons to freely enter and exit the mortal realm. The altar transformed demon’s blood into human clones, and conversely, could transform human blood into demon clones. Angels, as represented by the Golden Law, played the role of guarantors in the process.

Identity checks out! Let them through!

And since the clone would be the combination of two powers, its potential would be incredible.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon was limited by his perspective and understanding of history. His speculation wasn’t incorrect per se, but he had underestimated the altar, and even more so the Lord of Pride. His flawed assumption would inevitably lead to his plan going astray.

He believed the altar to be merely the key to becoming lord, that the altar wasn’t as important as the territory, which wasn’t entirely wrong. Demons fought tooth and nail in hell, constantly breaking pacts and backstabbing each other, all for territorial expansion.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon had had a chance. He could’ve become lord through the key, but because of several layers of outsourcing and many of the candidates not meeting the requirement for purity, he still hadn’t found an ideal host body.

The body he was using now was a product of alchemical modification, its bloodline contaminated and no longer human, unable to undergo reincarnation through the altar.

Since he had to sit on the throne and continuously receive thoughts from hell, and the Death Knight had stood him up, the Thousand-Eyed Demon had no choice but to have his loyal subordinate become the temporary lord first. Once his thoughts had fully settled, he would seize his subordinate’s body to become the new lord.

He could’ve succeeded were his subordinate not a double agent.

Wayne knew nothing of hell or the truth of history, and he had never seen the Lord of Pride. But through the clone reincarnated via the altar, he understood one thing: the territory wasn’t important; the key was! At least in this barren territory, the altar was the greatest treasure the Lord of Pride had left behind.

As Wayne continued to inject his thoughts, his demon clone—the white bat—continued to grow. From the initial two wings attached to a palm-sized ball to the two-meter-tall body with limbs and a head, its growth was promising. Since he couldn’t think of a better name for the moment, he decided to call the clone Bat Demon for now.

The Bat Demon stood two meters tall with entirely pale skin, similar to Wayne’s skin after fusing with the Book of Greed. The veins running along its skin resembled overgrown tissues. There was a vertical eye on its chest like an extended ink-black slit.

What a refreshing sight in the industry. No one else had such distinctive looks.

Apart from those features, the Bat Demon’s other traits were decidedly hellish. It had a white chin, black lips, gleaming blood-sucking fangs, and carapace-like tissues covering half the face and head. Six golden eyes lined up in symmetrical rows of three. On its pale hands, the black nails were sharp and elongated. Its bat wings were white on the inside and black on the outside. Its spine protruded from its back, and its tailbone extended into a white tail running over two meters long, black only at the tip.

The clone had fully matured, or at least entered the maturing stage after puberty.

Wayne sensed the territory beneath his feet through the clone. After gaining permission, he understood even more clearly the value of the key. Seriously, to protect the mortal realm from demon invasion, the Thousand-Eyed Demon had even personally entrusted such a divine artifact to a member of the righteous faction; he was trying so hard!

Moved by the devotion, Wayne was ready to tearfully slay the Thousand-Eyed Demon. Victory was guaranteed with the Death Knight on the left and the demon clone on the right.

Boom!!!

But then a spatial rift opened, and brilliant holy light descended.

Wayne and the Thousand-Eyed Demon looked toward the uninvited guests at the same time. The slightly petite figure with holy wings manifested holy light into an armor of sacred scriptures and a spear.

“Bruce, an angel has come. Stop them.”

“Sure,” Wayne responded dismissively.

Right at that moment, he frowned, receiving a warning from his clone. He sensed the angel’s intense hostility. Between an actual demon and a half-finished alchemical creation, the Bat Demon was considered the primary target of elimination by the angel, while the Thousand-Eyed Demon became secondary.

Holy light swept toward him horizontally. A violent white flood surged hundreds of meters like a great tsunami and crashed down thunderously, engulfing the lava rivers and red mountains in its path, unstoppable in its devastation.

In the blink of an eye, the red mountain where Wayne had stood was leveled. The magnificent cross of holy light tore through the darkness and shot into the dark swirls at the top of the dome above, thrusting hard into the gates of hell like a white spear.

***

Wayne dove into the Bat Demon’s body at the last moment before the sacred flames struck. He didn’t have time to familiarize himself with the new form; the blast knocked him and the altar into the lava.

As its lord, he owned every part of the territory, the lava included. Thus, its heat not only didn’t harm him, but felt like a comfortable hot spring.

He had planned to quietly wait for the angel to leave, while the altar melted in the heat so that no one else would use it to reincarnate into a demon. The treasure was so wonderful that letting another have it would be a huge loss. He had to destroy it!

Unfortunately, the angel wasn’t so easily fooled. She specialized in combat and had a keen sense for demonic presence. While the Bat Demon would like to lie down flat, the angel disagreed.

Get up, demon!

***

The Thousand-Eyed Demon stared dumbfounded as the red mountains collapsed. His trusted right-hand man, Bruce, and the demon clone he had placed such high hopes in seemed instantly obliterated, and even the altar had fallen into the lava river, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

There wasn’t even a struggle.

“Gone?!”

“That’s it for the Lord of Pride’s grand design?”

The sudden turn of events stunned the Thousand-Eyed Demon witless. He could tell that it wasn’t that the angel was too strong, but that the demon clone was too weak—so much so that it couldn’t even withstand a single blow.

But soon, the demon corrected his assumption. The angel’s attacks continued, raining holy light and sacred flames down on the lava river like they cost nothing. Perhaps Bruce was dead, but the demon clone survived. It just didn’t know how to resist without anyone piloting it.

“Maybe this is better. You’ve already received your greatest reward: a chance to show your loyalty!”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon closed his eyes, trying to control the Bat Demon’s mind. He had corrupted Bruce’s thoughts, which had shaped the Bat Demon. According to the equation, the Bat Demon should be under his control.

But the attempt failed. The equation wasn’t valid!

The Thousand-Eyed Demon tried various ways to make contact, but could never establish a connection with the Bat Demon. The number was unavailable. It was as if he had never corrupted Bruce.

“That’s impossible. It must be...”

Must be because of the holy light!

The Thousand-Eyed Demon panicked and found himself an excuse. He endured the pain of receiving thoughts and made to stand up, planning to deal with the angel first and then retrieve more thoughts until his main body fully descended. Success was within reach. There was no reason he would stumble at the final step.

Just then, two figures with wings of light flew in through the spatial rift: Archbishop Gunther and Knight Commander Atori. They came fighting for their faith!

The two bugs were manageable, not considered variables to the Thousand-Eyed Demon. He didn’t even glance at them, keeping his attention on the angel.

The red lava river shot toward the sky. Black bat wings wrapped around a white body and hovered quietly in the air. Lava dripped from the fleshy wings and the long tail. A scorching energy surged, spreading wildly in all directions.

Roaaaaar—!

The Bat Demon let out a furious roar, spreading its wings in the air. Its six golden eyes locked onto the angel, and so did the giant eye in its chest. Its aura was chaotic and violent, like it had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

Strong gales scattered scorching air in all directions. Visible white torrents surged like nonstop tides, rolling and flooding outward with overwhelming momentum. On the ground, the red mountains and lava rivers started shaking violently, responding to the territory lord’s call.

“Good, the clone is still alive.”

As expected of the Lord of Pride, in whom we trust!

The Thousand-Eyed Demon’s expression brightened with ecstasy. Sitting steadily on his throne, he reached out with his thoughts and laughed. “My child, I’m your father. I created you. Don’t be confused and don’t be afraid. Use your power to kill the angel before you. They are absolutely no match for you.”

What the hell? Wayne was bewildered. He didn’t know which part of the demon’s brain had short-circuited for him to say such stupid things.

He raised his five fingers to lift the red lava river and crumble the red mountains, shaking the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s black throne until it couldn’t remain stable. A lava greatsword wreathed in black smoke rose and came down on the demon.

Rumble—!

Under the destructive impact threatening to shatter the land, the pillar beneath the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s throne collapsed with a thunderous rumble. The black throne cracked, and the process of receiving thoughts was terminated.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon’s ecstatic grin froze like he had been slapped in the face. After a brief moment of shock, immense rage rose in his chest. He let out a blood-curdling hoarse roar, his eyes flashing with a vicious light as he looked at the Bat Demon.

It had so many eyes that he didn’t know which one to look at!

The Thousand-Eyed Demon grew even more incensed. He never thought he would one day have too few eyes.

“If only my main body had descended...”

The demon gritted his teeth. His black robe swirled with dark mist as he condensed hellish power. A massive pair of wings enveloped in black smoke unfurled from his back. He couldn’t rebuild his throne in the short term, which meant he couldn’t continue receiving thoughts from hell. However, he had already recovered a decent amount of power, at least enough to deal with the angel and the Bat Demon. Once he eliminated the obstacles, he would seize his success and take the final step.

Darkness, flames, and holy light clashed in the sky, their powerful auras escalating and crushing mountains and land, causing the scorching red river to sink rapidly. Higher above, the gates of hell crackled with electric currents while the vortex of black mist roared nonstop.

Against the apocalyptic backdrop, Atori looked up at the gates of hell with profound concern. Sensing the three powerful energies, he couldn’t help but make a sign of the cross on his chest. At this point, all they could do was pray.

Gunther didn’t pray. He opened the Sacred Tome of Golden Law and established a connection with the summoned angel. The demons were fighting among themselves; the Thousand-Eyed Demon and his creation clashed with irreconcilable differences. With three parties in opposition, if the angel wanted to stay out and let the dogs bite each other, she would surely be ganged up on by both demons instead. Thus, he asked the angel to help one demon kill the other first before deciding the final victor.

Renata’s golden eyes glinted with displeasure. Joining hands with a demon went against her faith, even if the goal was to eliminate another demon. Her answer was simple: impossible.

Gunther’s response was even simpler: then one of the demons would be the final victor. Did she really want to see Saint Paul’s Cathedral defiled and Father’s honor desecrated?

Humans could be devilish!

Renata’s expression turned frosty. She asked the bearer of the Golden Law which demon she should ally with.

Was there even a question? Obviously, the one committing patricide!