Myths Reawakened

The black luxury car returned to Lando Estate.

Fiddling with his antique silver coin, Auston tilted his head and asked, “What did you talk to the prince about?”

“Astronomy, geography, chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, landscapes, and culture. What didn’t we talk about?” Wayne made a face. “Although I’ve never met Princess Elizabeth, the prince proved to me that Her Majesty has a good eye for people. The princess must be an extraordinary heir.”

Auston snorted, but then reprimanded, “Do not judge the members of the royal family. The Tulip Families are knights. Have you ever heard knights mouth off about their masters?”

Yeah, sometimes knights even got their mouths on their masters.

Wayne thanked him for the advice and brought up how Mayor Angelo had played hustler for the prince with a smirk. “The woman’s beautiful and has a good figure. Most importantly, she knows men and plays hard to get well. If nothing goes wrong, the prince is going to have a lover.”

“Angelo shouldn’t have done that.” Auston shook his head. He knew that Angelo was ambitious and sought power desperately, not content with being someone else’s pawn, but he shouldn’t have made a move against the prince. If a scandal broke out in the royal family, Angelo would be the one to take the fall.

It had nothing to do with Auston, though. He could simply enjoy the show.

He shut his eyes, taking a short break with his coin between his fingers. His silence betrayed none of his thoughts. Wayne looked out of the window with a frown. The two demons had been keeping an extremely low profile, making no noise after entering Londan. While they had come for the Death Knight, they didn’t seem eager to complete their mission.

Clearly, they were up to something big!

After receiving news from Mona, Archbishop Gunther failed to find anything on Caim or Juliette. The two weren’t among the known demons in hell, so he concluded that they were familiars instead.

Familiars also posed great threats.

After the findings reached the Papal State, they sent a concise response: a reincarnated angel guarded Londan, and there was also a Sacred Tome of Golden Law at their disposal. They would be fine.

But they wouldn’t be fine! Wayne wasn’t sure where to begin. Yes, there was the sacred tome, but where was the reincarnated angel?

How unfortunate that he couldn’t just stay on the sidelines. He had been looking into the demon familiars for the past two days, which kept him so busy that he didn’t even have time to write in his diary.

***

On the night of Mayor Angelo’s birthday celebration, a figure quietly walked amid the thick, omnipresent mist far from the Northern District of Londan. There was no car or pedestrian around. Street lamps cast elongated shadows behind him, shimmering and flickering eerily.

It was Caim. He closed his eyes and looked for the origin of the Mist Domain with his senses.

A Mist Domain was a type of grey space, covering wherever the mist reached. Within it, ghosts, monsters, and magical creations abounded, appearing and disappearing with it. The phenomenon was quite mysterious.

Caim was certain that the Mist Domain had descended and become one with Londan, and before it disappeared completely, nights in Londan would always be accompanied by thick mist. However, it was sealed!

He was disappointed about the lack of bloodshed. He didn’t know who had applied the seal—it could be the Church of Heavenly Father or the royal family.

He planned to approach a member of the royal family and, through them, manipulate the Ministry of Magic into taking out the Death Knight. Unfortunately, he encountered a hurdle in the process.

Princess Elizabeth was never seen without her two knights, who had mastered the faith magic of Holy Light, and the princess herself was protected by a powerful psychic barrier. Given the level of protection in place for her, the same was likely true of the Prince, the Queen, and the other members of the royal family. Approaching recklessly would only get him exposed.

Caim wanted to create a distraction through the Mist Domain. It would be ideal if he could gain control over the seal. With the ability to command the mist of Londan at will, he would be the lord of Londan’s nights, and he would’ve completed half of Master’s mission for him.

After walking for half an hour, Caim saw an orphanage built in the style of a church. It had stained glass windows and tall spirals that reached toward the sky, as if asking for Heavenly Father’s protection.

As a demon, Caim couldn’t help but show an instinctual derision. Taking a white handkerchief out to cover his nose and mouth, he phased through the wall in a translucent state and reached the backyard of the orphanage.

Although the orphanage resembled a church and was supposed to take in orphans, the facade couldn’t fool Caim. He easily spotted the traces of black magic.

“In addition to hell’s alchemy, there’s also Holy Light, Sun, Moonlight, and Darkness...”

It was evident that such a complex seal couldn’t be done by one single force. It was likely the handiwork of a free mage from the Ministry of Magic.

“Where’s the core power? These are only supports, not the foundation...”

Caim pondered. The Mist Domain covering Londan was incredibly large, which made it apparent how great the core power had to be. The messy seals of different faiths were only there to cover the cracks on the fringe. The core was the key.

“Moreover, the Mist Domain has likely lost control some time ago, but it was suppressed again by the powerful core.”

“No, it isn’t necessarily the core...”

Caim felt a rising tension in him. The situation in Londan was more complex than he had expected. He consciously took more care in evaluating the matter and felt a belated relief for having exercised caution. He marked the location and decided to check.

A red-eyed crow flew out of his sleeve, flapping its wings and landing on a wall. Its crimson eyes glinted with bloodlust before it concealed itself in the thick mist, appearing as if it had gone invisible.

Splat!

The crow exploded in an instant with an audible sound, splattering corrupted blood and black feathers everywhere.

Caim hid his shock and calmly turned around, seeing a figure in an impeccable suit deep in the backyard of the orphanage. The name-brand watch on the wrist stood out like a sore thumb. Under the swirling black mist concealing the mysterious figure’s face, the crimson eyes seemed demonic.

Caim tried to get a clear look at the face, but his vision could not penetrate past the black mist, deterred by rumbling black currents.

“Who are you?”

“I should be asking you the question. Who are you?”

The mysterious man stepped forward. Blackness spread like tidal waves, creating a large barrier that resembled a dark domain to trap Caim.

Caim scattered into hundreds of crows and flew into the night sky to his escape. The next moment, the crows reassembled high in the sky. Hovering, he looked down at the illuminated city shrouded by mist.

“Hellish power, but not a demon. Where did he get the knowledge?”

Caim was confused. He gave up on looking into the Mist Domain. This territory belonged to someone else, and forcing a takeover would only end in his demise. He raised his guard. There were too many mysteries hidden in the human world. He could not afford to be careless, not even with the great power his master granted him.

“Marius, your pride was your downfall.”

Suddenly, Caim’s vision blurred. The city below him vanished, and he found himself back in the backyard of the orphanage, all alone. It was as if everything had been an illusion.

Splat!

The crow that perched on the wall exploded.

Caim’s pupils contracted. He turned around and saw the mysterious figure on the other side once more. The exact same scene repeated.

“You...”

“I should be the one to ask you the question. Who are you?”

Black tidal waves swept over. Caim once more transformed into a murder of crows to escape. Thirty seconds later, he plunged from the sky. Again, a crow exploded on the wall.

Caim’s scalp tingled. His thoughts were unable to see through the illusion or break the cycle. The mysterious figure was far more powerful than he was.

Roarrrr!!!

He tossed away his walking stick and transformed. The black crow with a serpentine neck spread its wings, conjuring dark storms as it soared toward the sky. While flying against the wind, the strange bird grew larger and larger, its wingspan increasing to three hundred meters after three flaps of its wings. With black storms surrounding it, its aura was terrifyingly powerful.

It rampaged about in the sky. Sensing the edge of the endless loop, it launched a relentless attack. The resulting storms swept across the night sky above Londan, the rumbling currents pushing the mist toward the ground and compressing it.

In reality, Caim stood in the orphanage with blank eyes, not having moved an inch. His face twisted as rumbling growls escaped his throat. The mysterious figure strolled up to him, kicking him to the ground while unbuttoning his suit to take a scalpel out of the inner pocket.

“The complete body of a familiar is a precious material that’s not easy to come by. I hit the jackpot tonight.”

The mysterious figure gingerly sliced up Caim’s body then and there, all the while talking to Caim. “Who is your master?”

“The great Demon God of Night from hell,” Caim answered thoughtlessly. His mind was trapped in a cycle, unable to escape despite his tireless struggling.

“Stolas?” The mysterious figure nodded. “According to the available codex of hell, Stolas is a powerful demon, ranking quite high if you disregard the Seven Great Demons. Your master is entitled to the title of ‘demon god’.”

The mysterious figure created three clones, each holding a scalpel to accelerate the autopsy. “Why are you in Londan, and how did you get here?”

“To kill the Death Knight. Caught a flight.”

“...”

The mysterious figure scratched his head, almost cutting himself carelessly. He shook his head and said, “You’re no match for the Death Knight even if you can borrow the power of a demon god.”

“The Death Knight is no longer complete.”

“Oh, pray tell?”

Under the mysterious figure’s urging, Caim elaborated, “The Death Knight is now two. The one in the underground catacombs in Palis is under my master’s control, while another Death Knight emerged in Londan. They’re new and have not reached the peak of their power.”

“The Death Knight took the Book of Seals. My master...”

“Among the three familiars who have descended, Marius is dead...”

“I’m seeking the origin of the Mist Domain...”