Myths Reawakened

The continuous buff from the Sacred Lance of Heaven pushed Mona’s power to an unimaginable level. Her holy wings spread wide, making her seem like an actual angel descending to earth.

Not far away, Veronica’s eyes went wide as saucers. Vera swallowed hard and had to put her jaw back manually. She urgently said, “Veronica, the woman is even more dangerous than our senior! We have to get rid of her fast!”

Losing to one of their own was fine; worst-case scenario, they could just go the paramour route. But losing to an outsider was absolutely unacceptable.

“Fine, once I’m back—” Veronica stopped herself, looking conflicted. “What does it have to do with me? She’s Wayne’s secretary, and I’m in no place to make her leave.”

“You idiot, you’re going to regret this.” Vera fumed, delivering a hand chop to... nothing. Veronica caught her hand.

Smack!

“Ow!”

Veronica returned the hand chop and huffed as she turned to Mona, curious why such a powerful clergywoman who could even summon an angel would be so obedient to Wayne. No, she was more than obedient, not even fighting back when he groped her. She had clearly given herself to him.

Veronica hadn’t seen anyone being so shameless about throwing themselves at a man, not even in Mr. Lando’s office. There had to be more to the story.

Boom!

A pillar of holy light thrust down, striking the white giant squarely in the chest. White sacred flames poured into the dark vortex, and the two opposite energies entered a nonstop battle, each clash ending in mutual obliteration.

That alone showed that neither heaven nor hell held an absolute advantage over the other. The strong would naturally triumph. A powerful tyrant could brace a bow with one hand, but if the tyrant wasn’t powerful enough, the bow string would snap and whip him instead[1].

The boss’s transformation was interrupted before it could reveal its complete form. The sacred flames burned the twisted faces and made them shriek and wail, turning them and the black mud to ashes.

The white giant was ignited, too, and the black vortex, lacking support, collapsed and vanished completely. Conversely, without the vortex’s restraining power, the white giant flailed its arms around as its melting limbs and flesh fell to the ground. It struggled for a prolonged moment until its eventual death.

The pile of rotten flesh on the ground emitted a foul stench, while the Book of Hell hovered quietly above.

“Nice find. Another extracurricular reading material for me.” Wayne summoned vines with a wave of his hands. But before the vines could reach the book, a spatial rift tore open, and an arm reached out to firmly grasp it.

The hand was clad in a white glove, and its owner wore a black suit and an expensive watch.

“Who’s there? Let go of the hellish artifact!” Mona shouted, thrusting the Sacred Lance of Heaven downward. Her thoughts shaped the terrifying sacred flames into a condensed ray, the killing power so horrific that it warped space itself.

The glowing line hit the white glove, but failed to do the mysterious person any harm. The figure took the Book of Hell and closed the spatial rift, showing no intention of revealing themselves.

Mona’s eyes glinted, sending a strand of her thoughts through the rift to give chase. The moment the rift closed, she caught sight of the mysterious person, who wore a tie to go with the suit, dress shirt, and leather shoes. It was the typical look of a social elite.

Although she had seen the mysterious person, she couldn’t make out the facial features due to their face being concealed by a dark mist; she could only determine that it was a man. What shocked her was the backdrop behind him—Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Londan.

Once the spatial rift sealed, Mona descended in a daze and returned the sacred lance to Wayne, describing the unbelievable glimpse she had caught.

Another bigshot in Londan? Wayne pondered, speculating that the mysterious man was one of the legendary mages of the Ministry of Magic, and that the backdrop of Saint Paul’s Cathedral was only meant to deceive or intimidate Mona.

“That doesn’t hold up, Boss.”

With no hand groping her, Mona was able to think like a detective with her intelligence firing on all cylinders. “The mysterious person was able to take the book at any time, but never did until you saw it. Clearly, he was provoking you. Perhaps...”

She glanced at Wayne. “Perhaps he knows your true identity. The cathedral points to the Church of Heavenly Father. He wants you to know that he knows.”

“He doesn’t know jack shit!”

Wayne huffed, telling Mona not to overthink it. If the mysterious person really knew Wayne, he wouldn’t use the cathedral as the backdrop, but the Church of Death!

However, Mona’s analysis wasn’t entirely without merit. If she was right that there was a traitor from the Church of Heavenly Father, the ‘fact’ that Wayne was a reincarnated angel might have already spread within certain circles.

“Boss, we can be certain that the mysterious person is in Londan.” Mona frowned. “To better protect you, I hope to stay by your side at all times.”

In other words, she was asking him to let her move in and stop ignoring her. She wanted to be more than his secretary, taking on the job of a butler, bodyguard, driver, and body pillow.

How ambitious of you! Wayne rolled his eyes and said that they would discuss it later. Moreover, since she had performed well in this battle, he would reward her properly when they returned to Londan.

“Boss, you haven’t given me the reward last time.”

“We’ll settle that at the same time as today’s rewards. I keep my word. You’ll get your due.”

Wayne brushed her off and told her to contact the investigation team at once. Vacation was over. It was time to get back to work.

“Oh, and the two clerks have the Queen’s secret decree. We’re about to go over the account. They have to be present.”

***

That night, the Snow family’s main house was brightly lit, with members of the investigation team rushing in and out of the study at breakneck speed. Given the scale of the family’s business, the few dozen people on the investigation team certainly couldn’t handle it all, so Clerk Sandy, armed with the Queen’s secret decree, contacted the Ministry of Magic’s local members and recruited a large number of office workers from the municipal government to assist with the case.

Though they didn’t know what had happened, the mayor and several council members were standing in the hallway and wiping their sweat with handkerchiefs, their faces deathly pale. Before they knew it, both their handkerchiefs and shirts were soaked to the point that water could be wrung from them.

How wonderful. With all the sweat that was coming out, they didn’t have to worry about peeing their pants.

The Snow family had accumulated such a large fortune not only because of their foundation as old nobles, but also because they had insider information on policy changes, allowing them to make investments with guaranteed profit. Moreover, they had completely transformed into new nobles with an excellent relationship with the Fawst city government. Officials frequented their vacation villas for entertainment.

All those factors coming together made it nearly impossible for them to lose money in business.

In the study, Denise, the assistant clerk, sat at the desk, surrounded by piles of documents. After three straight hours of working overtime, she was sick of taking notes.

Wayne sat on the sofa with Vera feeding him on his left and Mona massaging him from behind. There was no one on his right; Veronica refused to take part in the debauchery.

She desperately wanted to kick the two shameless women out and give Wayne a good punch, but she couldn’t bring up their engagement and thus had no ground to act. Out of sight, out of mind. She stood by the window and pretended to be tolerant.

“Who knows when I’ll fulfill my wish~[2]”

Wayne patted the empty seat on his right, gazing at the busy men and women moving around the house as he hummed an appropriate background music. Everyone was busy, which was good. If they didn’t work hard, how was their leader going to keep mistresses?

Sandy lowered the documents and carefully approached Wayne, interrupting his strange humming. “Sir Wayne, regarding the Snow family—”

“Miss Sandy, we’re on the same side. Don’t be so formal with me.”

Wayne patted the empty spot on his right, inviting Sandy to sit with him. She was the Clerk of the Crown serving Her Majesty the Queen, so she should be treated as his equal.

Sandy politely declined. She didn’t want to take that spot. “The Snow family has all disappeared, so many of the documents cannot be verified. Could you let me see them?”

Sandy arrived late, so she thought that a fight had broken out at the Snow Estate and that Wayne had locked up the family members. It was confusing to her why the investigation team’s leader would suddenly make a move instead of following the standard procedure. The rule-breaking would definitely cause trouble later.

Fortunately, she had passed on the responsibility early, or she would’ve faced the Queen’s reproach as well.

“Miss Sandy, you won’t be seeing the Snow family members.”

“Are they already on their way to Londan?” Sandy was amazed by the efficiency. It hadn’t been that long, had it?

“No, they’re already in hell.”

“...”

“I mean it literally. I’ve killed them all.”

Sandy was visibly terrified like she feared that she would be silenced, too. Wayne smiled and patted the empty seat on his right. “Sit. We’re on the same side.”

Sandy’s eyes twitched. Gritting her teeth, she was about to sit down when Veronica snatched the spot from her.

Smothering a chuckle, Wayne said, “Don’t worry. I received an emergency secret decree from Her Majesty, which gave me the authority to execute the entire Snow family. They were charged with a greater crime. It involves matters that are above your pay grade, so don’t ask questions. Just report the result to Her Majesty.”

Sandy sighed in relief, giving him a displeased look. The playboy was only using her; she almost sat down.

“Sir Wayne, without the Snow family’s testimony, much of the evidence can’t be confirmed. They cleaned up their tracks thoroughly...”

“It’s simple,” Wayne interrupted her. “Box up the evidence and ship everything, including the stolen goods, to Lando Estate in Londan by cargo ship. I’ll receive them there.”

Seriously? You’re going to be so open about your corruption?

Sandy smiled bitterly. “Sir Wayne, I’m Her Majesty’s clerk at the end of the day. You should be hiding these things from me.”

“I do,” Wayne confirmed. Then he added, “I’ve already had someone send a box of sillings to your place. Remember to sign at reception.”

Sandy’s face darkened. She insisted, “I appreciate your kind offer, but I’ll turn these stolen goods over to the Ministry of Magic and let Her Majesty decide what to do with them.”

“Her Majesty is busy. With such a small amount, you and I are enough to keep them safe for her.”

Wayne remained completely nonchalant. The Snow family being vessels for demons had obvious implications. He was telling the truth when he said that the Queen was busy. She didn’t have the time or effort to spare for the alleged case of corruption committed by the investigation team leader and the Clerk of the Crown.

His attitude made it seem like this was also the Queen’s order, so Sandy stopped pressing.

“Team leader, we found many documents in the secret chamber related to banks, real estate, and trading companies,” one member of the investigation team reported.

“Change all the names to mine...” Wayne gave his instructions. “After that, box and send everything to the Lando Estate. Then hold an auction to legally transfer all the assets. The Snow family may break the law, but not the investigation team. We must be perfectly law-abiding.”

“Understood.”

Sandy was speechless. In all her years as a clerk, she had never seen anyone more ‘law-abiding’ than Wayne. He didn’t even bother to keep up the pretense, and he could’ve easily avoided her—it wouldn’t have taken much time.

“Team leader, we found a box in a hidden compartment. The contents require your personal inspection.”

“Lead the way.”

Wayne strode to the secret chamber and saw a thick stack of introductory materials about hell. The illustrated guides detailed the identities and appearances of the Demon Lords, along with complex alchemical circles, ranging from beginner level to hellish level. There were so many that he felt like he was seeing things.

Unlike the waste paper humans assigned value to and gave the name of ‘money’, these were true treasures.

Wayne ordered them to be sealed and carried to his room. He would be studying overnight today.

1. The original expression is ‘a tyrant forcefully bracing a bow’, which references the general Xiang Yu and his powerful physique. It means ‘to force someone to do something by force’ and is now more commonly used to describe sexual assault. ☜

2. A famous sung line from a classic Hong Kong movie, The Deer and the Cauldron, starring Stephen Chow. ☜