Myths Reawakened

Seeing the cuckold, Wayne twisted around to look for a window, but there wasn’t one!

Julia looked at the headless knight in surprise and joy. “Master, you finally found me.”

“Take Shadow Nightmare and Book of Seals back to Palis. I need you and my sword!” Seeing his beloved mount softened his tone, but then he suddenly roared, “Kill this man for humiliating me. He stained my honor as a knight and defiled the goddess.”

Julia paused. “Master, he’s my new master, and he neither defiled the goddess nor humiliated you. All this time, he’s been taking care of me. He treats me well.”

“Bastard, are you hearing yourself?”

The headless Death Knight lost his calm completely. He seemed like a furious husband who returned home with a bouquet of roses only to catch his wife frolicking around with the pretty boy next door. And well, with Windsor being separated from Franc by the sea, Wayne supposed he was a neighbor of the Death Knight.

Julia groused, “Master, you abandoned me, but now you’re blaming me? What if I found myself a new master? I didn’t do anything wrong. I just took a liking to him.”

She was unhappy and wanted to be sweet-talked, or she would only let Wayne ride her in the future.

Wayne scratched his face. He was just a bystander, and he believed both of them shared the blame. Maybe they should calm down and stop arguing.

The ruin and the mountain clashed. The great friction led to the groaning sounds of mountains breaking apart. There was no stopping the place from crumbling. In case some hit him while he watched the drama unfold, Wayne circulated the energy of Death throughout his body to enter a weakened version of immortality.

With an absolutely rational mind, he was able to enjoy the gossip even more! Rationality didn’t prevent one from enjoying juicy gossip. The two weren’t contradictory.

When the argument reached an emotional peak, the headless knight suddenly shuddered, quickly saying to Wayne, “The new knight, they’re controlling my thoughts. That wasn’t me. I’ll entrust Julia to you. Protect Shadow Nightmare and the Book of Seals. Do not let them get what they want.”

Wayne blinked in confusion, getting whiplash from the sudden turn of events. No wonder the Death Knight didn’t take Shadow Nightmare away. He was going to entrust Wayne with his wife and kid, it turned out.

Wayne asked, “You lost control of yourself because you lost your head, so you sent Julia and your sword to Windsor to prevent yourself from making a grave mistake?”

“Yes, I was going to contact you, but you turned me down,” said the headless knight. “The demons of hell gained control of me, but while they can alter my will, they cannot alter my faith. I sent Julia and Shadow Nightmare away from Palis, waiting for the new knight to emerge.”

“You’re remarkable, young man. Since the goddess handpicked you, you are the new Death Knight.” He turned to his beloved mount. “Julia, don’t listen to any order I make in the future, for it won’t be my own will doing the talking. Follow your new master. I’m glad he’s been treating you right.”

Despite his words, it was quite clear from the former Death Knight’s tone that he felt aggrieved and wasn’t speaking from his heart.

“Master...”

Learning the whole story, Julia immediately forgave him. She had made mistakes, too. While the Death Knight was gone, she had felt such a strong itch that she failed to stop herself from seeking another master, letting Wayne ride her to his heart’s content.

“Forget about me, Julia. I’m not worth it. Unless I manage to recover myself, don’t ever return to my side.” The headless knight was reluctant to let her go, so he made the statement with a caveat, hoping that he would get to ride her again.

“Allow me to interrupt!” Wayne stepped between Julia and the headless knight. It wasn’t the time for a soap opera when there was an important matter at hand. “Headless Knight, you said that the demons of hell had gained control of you. There’s more than one of them?”

I’m not Headless Knight!

“It’s an alliance of demons. They are numerous and hope to spread their faith in the mortal realm through me. After cultivating enough power, they’re going to topple the reign of one of the demon lords in hell. Their influence is already spreading in Palis. With their grand ambition, they’re surely going to wreak havoc in the human world.”

“Remember, I can only be myself for a short time. Once Shadow Nightmare is back in Palis, I will fight for it. Do not come.”

Wayne nodded. Rest assured, he was never setting foot in Franc when it would soon be claimed by an enemy nation.

“I’ve given myself a seal so that I won’t seek out Shadow Nightmare actively while I’m in their control, but my will is falling more and more under their influence. It calls out to Shadow Nightmare continuously, and the strong urge will prevent you from using it...”

“I’ll seal my memory today so that no one will know you have Shadow Nightmare...”

“If you don’t want to keep getting disturbed, come to Palis when you’re strong enough and kill me, inheriting the honorable mantle of the Death Knight!”

After that, the Headless Knight started growling once more, with rolling grey mist surrounding him. He accused Julia of betraying her master and surrendering to the enemy, swearing to decapitate her. Julia lowered her head pitifully. Although she knew her former master was spouting nonsense due to a loss of control, she still couldn’t help but feel hurt.

“It’s okay. He’s just running his mouth. He can’t even come over.”

Wayne flipped the Headless Knight off and patted Julia on the head. Feeling loved, she nuzzled his cheek in an intimate manner.

If the Headless Knight weren’t already dead, he would’ve died from rage!

While he didn’t have a face—even if he had his head, it would be an expressionless skull—Wayne still pictured a struggling expression from his conflicted words, sometimes twisted with rage and sometimes helpless.

Julia’s ex was quite pitiful!

Wayne rubbed his skull, feeling glad to have his head. He would like to help, but he wasn’t capable of that. Currently, the Death Knight disguise was his greatest power. When even the actual Death Knight had been imprisoned, how would a fake be able to do anything?

The Headless Knight growled incessantly, using his thoughts to manipulate the grey mist to launch an assault against Wayne. Given that his power came from Death, and they were a sea apart, the thought embedded in the Book of Seals alone couldn’t do anything about Wayne. Besides, the Book of Greed had tasted the power he wielded.

“Kill you! I’ll kill you!”

“Die!!”

After the grey mist’s repeated failure, it split into five parts and rushed into the skeleton riders and Sebastian. The last strand knocked into Julia, opening a portal to send her away.

“Master—”

The portal closed, and Wayne could no longer hear her.

Shocked, he made a grip but couldn’t draw Shadow Nightmare. A powerful will was undermining his attempt from afar. The clash left him dizzy and lightheaded as if he had been hit by a physical power, almost forcing him out of his immortal state.

He staggered. Sensing an incoming danger, he dropped down and held up the Book of Seals like a shield. A gunshot resounded. The skeleton rider armed with a sniper rifle made shots as it retreated, vanishing into the darkness to seek a vantage point. All around him, the skeleton soldiers charged toward him with Oscar and Mana leading the way in the front, ignoring the falling rocks.

Rat-a-tat!

The two skeleton riders fired their heavy machine guns, the barrage of bullets compelling Wayne to turn on his heels and run. He couldn’t afford to try to dodge the bullet by zigzagging, given the sheer number of bullets and how concentrated they were. Instead, he ran out of the range of fire as fast as possible, fleeing westward.

Bang!

Having sensed the incoming shot from the sniper, Wayne lunged forward and lay flat on the ground. Just then, the land rumbled, and a giant skeletal hand that was ten meters long shot out. Time had washed away the golden color of the giant’s skeleton into a dim yellow. Its towering body instilled fear in the onlookers. Its pitch-black eyes seemed connected to the boundless void, radiating an indescribable terror.

Sebastian!

The Gold-rank mage had exited stage left unceremoniously, without throwing a fit or putting up a resistance. It was only after the Headless Knight reanimated him that he got to demonstrate his mastery over Death magic.

He wasn’t a regular skeleton soldier, but a skeleton mage. He summoned six skeletons of giants buried in the ground.

The skeleton riders, skeleton mage, skeleton giants, and army of skeleton soldiers cornered Wayne from all sides, while the sniper continued to provide suppressing fire.

Clink!

A metal ball flew toward Wayne, landing somewhere near him.

Boom!!

Orange flames burst out of the metal casing, shooting powerful currents everywhere. Wayne crossed his arms. The miners’ clothes he wore were torn from the countless fingernail-sized metal shards piercing into his body.

He didn’t bleed. Instead, his pale flesh writhed, and his body swelled and rose in height, his facial features becoming blurred. His chest split vertically, dramatically revealing a large eyeball.

With a bang, a bullet from a sniper rifle shot into his boneless body at high speed, leaving a large hole. White flesh squirmed and mended, not even leaving a scar.

Wayne suddenly hurled the Book of Seals overhead. A tentacle emerged from his back to catch it. His large chest eye darted around before he rushed west to his escape.

Two skeleton gunners shot at him from two directions. The heated bullets whooshed through the air and chased after him in two lines.

Wayne recklessly rushed the army of skeleton soldiers and leaped, dodging the skeleton giant’s swinging hand. The barrage of bullets followed, blasting several skeleton soldiers into pieces but glancing off the giant like they had hit steel.

The giant’s remains had been buried for countless years, yet they were able to endure the firepower of heavy machine guns right after being unearthed, without undergoing magical refinement. It was evident how mighty the giant had been in life.

Boom!

A large boulder fell, bringing down the skeleton giant and making way for Wayne. Relying on his supernatural sense, he weaved through the crumbling ruin, dodging dangers with ease.

In the back, the skeleton soldiers were too slow in their pursuit, and the elite soldiers—Oscar and Mana—were no exception. Meanwhile, the skeleton mage Sebastian raised his walking stick as he staggered forward, a glowing magic circle expanding under his feet. It seemed that he was going to use an offensive spell with a large area of effect.

Boom!

Another boulder hit the skeleton mage. The magic circle faded amid the loud bang and the thick black smoke. The few skeleton giants staggered, their bones falling apart on the ground.

Amid the pursuing enemies, only the two skeleton riders were able to keep up with Wayne. Having used up their bullets, they rode and threw grenades at him instead. Wayne rushed forward while explosions thundered all around him. From afar, he spotted the building where Mona was hidden. He came to a sudden halt.

A sniper round brushed past him in the front, breaking off a piece of white flesh from his head.

You’re the most dangerous one!

His large chest eye shifted to the vantage point where the bullet came from. Three pairs of fleshy wings unfolded behind his back, and his white hands and feet merged into his torso. With what little wind elements remained in the area, he took flight with his six wings.

From afar, the existence with a large eyeball, three fleshy wings, and writhing tentacles of grey mist painted quite a dreadful picture. Wayne flew around, dodging falling boulders left and right. With that slowing him down, the skeleton rider that had been making sniping shots from the vantage point seized the time to move into the shadow, seeking another hiding point.

Unfortunately for the skeleton rider, it was so remarkable an existence that no matter how it hid, it stood out like a firefly in the dark. Wayne located the skeleton’s hiding place and tucked his wings in to plunge fast. Right before the skeleton could raise its sniper rifle, he seized it with his tentacles.

Give it up!

After grabbing the gun, Wayne swept the sniper off the vantage point with his tentacles before flying toward Mona. He didn’t linger for a fight since there was no need to fight at all. The crumbling ruin would bury everything!

He flew into the room where Mona lay unconscious. A tentacle shot out to wrap around the supple, slim waist. Wayne continued to flap his wings, flying toward the sky where moonlight shone. The mountains continued to crumble, the fissures cracking further. He reached the illuminated part of the space, no longer threatened by the falling rocks.

The land shook violently, the fearsome force surging outward. The buildings in the city of giants toppled one after another like dominoes, bringing up great waves of dust and broken rocks.

Large cracks snaked along the paths, swallowing the ruin and creating more ruinous parts. The rocky terrains around the area collapsed, forming magnificent mudslides that buried the entire ruined city...

The thunderous rumbles woke Mona. She cracked her eyes open weakly. The sense of weightlessness made her look up instinctively. She saw a large eyeball that burned itself into her memory with one glance. The pale moonlight shrouded the three pairs of fleshy wings with a layer of hazy light. While the wings flapped, sparkling light scattered like water droplets.

“Angel...” Mona murmured, closing her eyes tiredly. Although nothing went right in the process, she achieved the right result: she found one of the angels that had descended into the human world.

After the earthquake stopped, Wayne landed on a bluff with Mona in tow. With the center of the Element Mountain having fallen apart, the rim of the highland stood above the center part of the mountain, forming a cauldron-shaped crater that contained the ruined architecture.

Wayne’s body writhed, returning him to his original form. The briefcase-like Book of Seals fell to the ground. He glanced at it before sensing for surviving skeletons below. However, the area was too vast for him to reach a definitive conclusion. He attempted to grab Shadow Nightmare instead.

Success!

“Are you alright, Master?”

Julia came with Shadow Nightmare, relieved that Wayne was alright, only stripped of his clothes.

Wayne kicked the ‘briefcase’ at his feet. Without missing a beat, Julia opened a portal to transport it away. The destination wasn’t far—only the neighboring town, Silent Hill.

As his hands closed around Shadow Nightmare, the ruby attached to the pommel flickered. Death’s deteriorating power quickened the passage of time, turning all the remains in the ruin into ash. Now, all evidence was gone.

“All done!”

Wayne sheathed the sword and told Julia to leave first. Then he tiredly rested on Mona’s lap. After a while, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and staggered toward the mining area.

He had to quickly find clothes, or his unmatched bigness would scare away potential friends.

To his surprise, a terrible battle seemed to have taken place near the collapsed entrance to the mine. Bullet holes and bodies were everywhere. Judging by the miners’ clothes that the dead were wearing, they had to be members of the Church of Death who were guarding the entrance.

Wayne looked around and soon found Kael sitting prone against a large tree. The man was exhausted after taking out a Silver-rank mage of the Church of Death with great difficulty.

Kael heard his approach. Opening his eyes, he saw the ╰ひ╯ he would really rather not see, and then he saw Mona being carried on Wayne’s shoulder. He grumbled, “What, how heated did things get on your end?”

“Very. There are so many of them that I had to strip.”

“So, you won?” Kael asked in disbelief.

“Of course not. They suddenly lost it and started killing each other...”

Wayne told the story: the members of the Church of Death were so numerous that he didn’t dare to start a fight, so he hid away with Mona. When he was just about to sacrifice himself, the enemies suddenly went after each other’s throats and killed each other. None of them survived.

It was a typical story in the magical world with no logical flaw, and Kael didn’t think Wayne could defeat so many mages. He asked instead, “Where’s the stone tablet?”

“Never saw it. It’s probably buried in the Element Mountain.” Wayne dusted himself off with a look of resignation. “If not for their greater number and our limited time, as well as Mona dragging me down, I would’ve gotten the stone tablet. This trip ends up giving me nothing. I want compensation!”