Myths Reawakened

Once he had Wayne’s promise, Auston stopped pressing, and given that he had priority as the master of the household, he got the bandage from Megan.

Wayne huffed. Were Veryl here instead of Megan, the bandage would’ve gone to him.

“I want to pet the cat, Megan!”

“Of course, Young Master. A moment, please.”

After bandaging Auston, Megan headed back to the main house to look for Monica. Auston trailed after her, ready for his usual pity act. It didn’t matter if his wife believed him; he had to show the right attitude.

Wayne also followed.

“To my knowledge, the Church of Nature will take at least half a year to select the Holy Maiden, given the numerous processes to go through. After Silvia submits the recommendation forms, the headquarters will send people to confirm if you are qualified to be a candidate.”

Auston knew the entire process well since he had witnessed it twenty years ago. “Although Silvia is the High Reverend and a Londan local, she has made a name for herself in Palis, thus lacking influence in Windsor. Flora, the former Holy Maiden, is going to make a move soon. You should watch yourself and avoid giving her any ammunition against you.”

“For example...”

“For example, you’ve been too intimate with the High Reverend of the Church of Moonlight!” Auston warned. “You’re also close to the Church of Heavenly Father. Both factors will harm your chances. Flora can easily create a backlash and disqualify you with a simple trick.”

“How about me being the heir of the Lando family?”

“It’ll be a plus. The Ministry of Magic has its plans, and so does the Church of Nature. Remember, you must not actually become the Anointed One.”

“I get it.”

“You better!” Auston huffed. Unable to contain his anger, he snapped, “Also, how messy can your personal life be? How many people did you take to the cinema?”

“They are friends.”

“Female friends for whom you would reserve an entire screening room?”

“It just happened that way. I don’t have many friends. None outside of them, actually.”

“...”

Auston was so fed up that he didn’t want to waste more breath. Reaching the main house, he happened to run into Megan and the black cat she was holding. Without a word, he grabbed Monica and pulled her into his arms to pet her.

Aggressively.

Monica’s eyes rolled back into her little skull like her soul was leaving her body. Feeling the itch, Wayne reached out and joined the party.

“Meowwww—”

***

Underground Catacombs, Palis.

The catacombs built with remains twisted and turned like a massive underground maze. Walking inside, one could hear the occasional low rumbles and the bone-chilling cries of misery from the dead.

Death instilled fear, making one treasure life while dreading the fickleness of life. Even someone with the highest status or the most riches would turn into a skeleton after death, tossed away unceremoniously. It was better to seize the present and value one’s fleeting life.

If it was impossible to lengthen one’s life, expand it!

Perhaps that had once been the purpose of the underground catacombs, but it certainly wasn’t the case now. The creator and the owner of the catacombs—the infamous Death Knight—had become nothing but a pitiful puppet with no head, no horse, and no sword.

He could no longer represent Death, and he had lost his dignity to the demons, becoming the demons’ knight in the human world.

In the heart of the underground catacombs, countless remains were stacked into a mountain in the forbidden ground, swirling with lifelessness. The air was permeated with bleakness and a solemn silence. On top of the mountain stood a skeleton throne, quietly accompanying its master—the head of the eight hundred thousand lifeless soldiers, the Headless Knight.

The knight who had lost almost everything sat on his throne, his tattered cape of Death energy fluttering in the still air, as if reminiscing about his glorious past when he fought in battles on his mount.

With him losing his head, it was difficult to figure out what he was thinking; even if he still had his head, of course, it would still be difficult to read anything from his skull.

Suddenly, black wind swept over, and a black-robed figure emerged from a spatial rift. Their long robe covered their entire body, and fluctuating black mist concealed their facial features, leaving only a pair of shimmering red eyes exposed.

“O great Death Knight, my master requests a conversation.” The robed figure bowed slightly to show the Death Knight respect. He appeared used to the Headless Knight’s silence.

Red light flickered in his hands, and viscous blood dripped down. The black blood seemed to have a life of its own, resembling a parasitic creature more than blood. Once it fell on the ground, it spread in a circle, drawing a complex inverted pentagram.

The black-robed figure groaned, the strange noises a mix of pain and hints of satisfaction. They gradually melted along with their long black robe, melding with the magic circle on the ground.

Black light bloomed, projecting a black gateway on the dome ceiling of the catacombs. Several flickering projections descended, hovering in the air with shimmering black light.

There were about twenty of them. It was an alliance of demons!

The oppression of the Seven Demon Lords compelled these demons to band together, and after years of preparation, they managed to acquire the Death Knight’s head. With the power of the underground catacombs, they were able to project their thoughts to the human world.

“Knight, when is the gate of hell in Palis going to be opened? How long are you going to drag your feet?”

“The obelisk plan failed. I’m disappointed.”

“We promised to return your head to you once you meet our conditions...”

“You let me down again, Knight!”

The different thoughts clashed and disturbed the space. The terrible sweeping energy shook the tall mountain of remains nonstop.

Although the alliance of demons had great firepower, it was less than stable internally. To this day, they had yet to elect a leader whom everyone would defer to, which was clear from their noisy, disorganized discussion.

Usually, a right-hand demon or a strategist should speak up first, and then the leader would give the final say.

“Stop arguing. You’ve thrown out all these questions. How is the knight going to respond to all of them at once?” One voice rang through the catacombs, speaking through their thoughts. They seemed to hold quite a status within the alliance and managed to take control over the chaotic conversation.

The catacombs quieted significantly. The weak fell silent, while three higher-ranking demons were given the floor to speak up.

The Headless Knight remained silent. No matter how the three sources of thoughts bombarded him with demands and threats of never returning his head, he maintained his self and composure.

Since it was impossible to get an answer, the alliance of demons made a collective move, unsealing the knight’s head and rewriting his will by force. His body trembled. The tattered grey cape whipped around, conjuring decaying skulls in the air to express his pain through the voices of the dead.

The Death Knight went offline, while the knight of the demon alliance came online.

Since the Headless Knight had sealed his own thoughts and forgotten about Wayne’s appearance, the demons couldn’t find Shadow Nightmare through him. It was his final attempt at resistance, which the alliance couldn’t do anything about.

Nevertheless, they were elites of hell and powerful beings who had gotten to their places by trampling on others. They had the brains and strategic thinking to piece together the root cause of the Headless Knight’s condition by asking indirect questions.

“The Goddess of Death has given up on Her knight. A new chosen one emerged. This knight has become history. Aside from being the owner of the underground catacombs, he’s worth nothing.” A lilting feminine voice spoke through her thoughts.

“Impossible. The Goddess of Death does not pay attention to Her knight. As long as the goddess did not choose another, he would continue to be the Death Knight.”

“No, the goddess has chosen another. Shadow Nightmare has a new master!”

“That doesn’t mean that Death has given up on him. He must have taken the initiative to send his power out of Palis.”

“What a loyal knight, giving up on his glory for his faith!”

“He entrusted his glory to the new Death Knight and leaked the information to the person so that they would take the Book of Seals, in Londan, Windsor.”

“While the gate of hell remains closed, we cannot descend. How about we try the same plan? We’ve succeeded once, so we can succeed again.”

“The new knight will then send Shadow Nightmare away in the same way. There’s no point in repeating the cycle.”

“That’s right. And it’ll take a long time, which is enough for us to open the gates of hell!”

“...”

“Lend me your power and allow my thoughts to descend to the human world. That’s the only way to deal with the Death Knight once and for all and get the Book of Seals back.”

“Haha, why am I not the one to descend to the human world?”

“I’m the better candidate!”

Such was the nature of demons. They created an alliance out of necessity, remained cautious out of a lack of trust, and betrayed each other out of their inherent moral code—or lack thereof. They would sooner disband than hold a democratic vote.

The three demons understood. Similar conversations had taken place multiple times, but never led to any results. The same thing would happen without intervention.

The three demons took a step back and proposed bringing their familiars to the human world by gathering everyone’s power. Each of the three demons would bring one over. There was no ‘I’ in ‘team’!

The other demons complained in dissatisfaction. “You’re using our power to bring your familiars over? We’re fighting for a better future by opening the gates of hell. If we do that, we’ll have to wait for another long period of time!”

“That’s right. I disagree.”

“Unless my familiar can descend, too.”

“And mine!”

There was another commotion. The three demons didn’t say anything until their allies had finished sharing their opinions.

“The Thousand-Eyed Demon died in Londan. It’s a dangerous place where your magic won’t be of help.”

“Let’s add an addendum clause: our familiars will not accumulate power in the human world for the three of us!”

“United we stand, and that was why we started the alliance. If we continue to argue among ourselves, the Seven Demon Lords will always be the masters of hell, and we’ll always be losers.”

The three demons made a good team in brainwashing the other demons, but it wasn’t terribly effective—no, it didn’t work in the slightest. They were all demons, and they knew the game. None of them was foolish enough to believe their colleagues.

The Headless Knight huffed out a laugh at the sight.

If they had to argue for so long for the simple matter of transporting their familiars, how were they going to drag one of the Seven Demon Lords off their throne? It would only happen in their dreams!