Myths Reawakened

Boom!

Following the explosion, one wall of the exhibition hall collapsed, scattering glass and rubble everywhere. A knight’s armor on a warhorse statue fell and shattered, and a few nearby uniformed soldiers were broken into pieces by the sturdy cannonball. Charred stone limbs fell on the ground haphazardly, making grey dust rise at the impact.

The second wave of attacks ended. The mana disturbance grew increasingly intense, and arrays of magic circles projected into the history exhibition hall, covering the entire floor.

“Another spatial barrier...” Filomina spat. “Wayne, do you people from the Ministry of Magic know nothing but underhanded trickery?”

“Please watch the friendly fire. I’m on your side.”

Wayne didn’t consider himself part of the Ministry of Magic. He only became a nominal member because of the Lando family.

While they conversed, he flexed his muscles, and Filomina let go of his arm to draw her personal weapons from her dark domain—the Pistol of Full Moon and a single-edged sword she had acquired to temporarily replace her old blade.

The Single-edged Sword of Waning Moon was a weapon tailor-made for her, the cost too high to recreate shortly. She thus acquired a placeholder.

She turned to Wayne, silently telling him to give her blade back if he knew any shame. Wayne pretended not to notice. He would accept a trade, but whoever brought it up first would be at a disadvantage; he refused to sell the loot he had gotten at the risk of his life at a low price.

Growl—

A magic circle opened up a spatial gateway. The familiar dragon-blooded mutants emerged, this time with no firearms but only fire in their hearts.

“They aren’t teleportation portals. The Ministry of Magic has long set up the ambush.” Filomina made the judgment from the patterns of the magic circle. “Toss the schedule. We’ll go wherever we want in the future.”

Without an anti-magic domain or firearms, the dragon-blooded soldiers didn’t pose much of a threat. Wayne and Filomina didn’t even have to step in; the twin mages would be able to take care of them.

Their magical pistols fired at high frequency, shooting incredibly powerful bullets imbued with fire. It took no time for the army of dragon-blooded mutants to be wiped out.

Wayne frowned. It was too easy. Such child’s play wouldn’t even harm Filomina. It was clear that the Ministry of Magic intended to frame the other churches.

Couldn’t they at least put in some effort and set up an anti-magic domain?

Hum—

He got what he wished for. Grey ripples swept through the floor, wiping out the magic circles and the four elements permeating the air. It was an anti-magic domain!

Filomina sighed. Experiencing the domain again reminded her of the terrible loss she had suffered last time and rekindled her hatred for the Ministry of Magic.

Seeing her calm expression, Wayne guessed that she likely had a countermeasure prepared, so he chose to wait and see rather than make a move.

Boom!

The wall in front of them collapsed. Four dragon-blooded mutants transformed into crocodile men and charged toward them while swinging their claws. The twin mages shielded Filomina physically, and under Wayne’s surprised gaze, they each took on two dragon-blooded mutants without wavering.

That was ridiculous. Based on Wayne’s observation, the twins, while strong, possessed limited life essence. They shouldn’t be this powerful in melee combat unless... they weren’t humans!

He asked the question out of curiosity. Instead of giving him an answer, Filomina said, “The Ministry of Magic didn’t set up a mirror space projection barrier, so we can leave at any time.”

“Let’s wait a little longer. I wonder what they’re planning.”

Wayne didn’t press. He looked at the twins curiously. If they were magical lives similar to the dragon-blooded mutants, that would mean that the Church of Moonlight had gone further down the path of life science than the Ministry of Magic.

The twins could use magic, meaning they had mana and thoughts. They usually ignored him and had an independent personality...

Perhaps they had been humans before they were modified by dragon blood or something similar. That would make sense!

Wayne watched as the twins tore the dragon-blooded mutants to pieces. The mutants had a clear weakness: while they could regenerate their flesh, they couldn’t regenerate their bones. Once their skeleton was extracted, they would become spineless mollusks, still alive but posing no threat.

After the third wave of attack, the fourth wave struck.

A crack opened up in the ceiling. White foamy flesh cascaded like tides, its corruptive power and vitality both far exceeding those of the dragon-blooded mutants. Sensing active lifeforms below, the flesh writhed toward the four of them.

It was the flesh of an Astral Beast!

Filomina’s face darkened. She had learned from her experience, so she immediately grabbed Wayne’s elbow.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you behind,” he reassured her.

That earned him an eyeroll from her. Filomina said, “This ambush isn’t targeting me, but you. I’m only a smokescreen. Someone wants to know how you rejected the corruption of the Astral Plane.”

Wayne narrowed his eyes, remembering Auston’s warning. How repulsive. As expected of the scum of the Ministry of Magic, they even surpassed him in scuminess! How could Windsor build a better future with this gathering of wretched sleazebags?

Filomina tightened her grip around Wayne’s elbow. “Don’t move. They will take care of everything. The same trick isn’t going to work on me.”

Wayne made an inquisitive sound. “Don’t you want to see how I saved you back then?”

“No rush. I’ll know once I have you.” Filomina glanced at him. Her arched eyebrow and frosty eyes made her seem regal and untouchable. “It’s more fun to reveal a secret in the end, is it not?”

Wayne gulped. Shit, his heart was fluttering. Was he going to lose the bet?

Although Filomina didn’t yet understand how one would go about aiming for the heart, she had come to learn the way to sway Wayne. She gave as good as she took and might just have a real shot at winning.

Meanwhile, the twins showed their inhuman side, moving swiftly as they plundered the flesh of the Astral Beast. Through physical contact, they assimilated with the foamy flesh and sucked the white tidal waves dry like sponges.

Wayne perked up with interest, staring at the twins closely. He wondered about their inner workings and would love to tear them apart for research.

He knew the limit of his ability. He had never truly rejected the corruption of the Astral Beast; the Astral Beast had simply failed to corrupt his life essence due to its lower weight class. Technically, he had merely rejected a low-level evolution. In fact, he would be corrupting the Astral Beast’s flesh instead!

What about the twins? How were they doing this?

He swallowed a few times before he felt a stab of pain in his elbow. Filomina snapped, “Don’t look at other women when you’re on a date. That’s the least respect you can show your partner.”

Speaking as if we were in a relationship!

Disgruntled, Wayne shifted his gaze away, waiting for the fifth wave of attacks. It never came. The Astral Beast was the last stage, or perhaps the ambusher had called a stop to prevent more losses.

The twins returned to the High Reverend’s side. Wayne looked at them, wondering where they were keeping all the Astral Beast’s flesh they had sucked in.

He ignored another stab of pain in his arm and said with a smile, “Virna, Diede, thank you for your hard work. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Wayne, a local Londaner.”

Look at your damn mug!

Filomina dragged Wayne away with a scowl. Once they were out of the anti-magic domain, she checked her watch and said, “It’s four o’clock in the afternoon. I’ll give you two hours to contact the Ministry of Magic. At six, I want a candlelight dinner, followed by a movie at night. Don’t be late.”

“Don’t worry. The ministry will give you an explanation.”

Wayne was about to leave when Filomina took his arm and offered him her hand. Life was about the little rituals!

Grumbling silently about her being a hassle, Wayne bent down and took her delicate hand to kiss her fingertips like a proper gentleman.

***

Soon after that, Wayne called Auston and explained what had happened.

“That’s the story. The High Reverend is losing her mind, and so am I. Please do some housecleaning in the Ministry of Magic!”

“Has the building collapsed?” Auston asked bluntly. Since they knew each other all too well, there was no reason to beat around the bush. Just name the price and be done with it.

“Well...”

“You should’ve destroyed the building,” Auston said regretfully.

“That won’t be appropriate. There are many valuable antique pieces...”

“Remember to make the destruction more dramatic next time. You’re not Veronica, so don’t make me repeat the same lesson. I’ll contact the Ministry of Magic. I want fifty percent of your compensation.” Auston gave him a lesson on how to be a scumbag.

“Is this robbery? I’m only going to give you thirty percent. No more!”

“Deal.”

...Damn it, I should’ve said ten percent!