Myths Reawakened

Wayne flew into the grove and accurately latched onto a tree. From afar, he saw a black sedan drive out of the front gates of the estate. He recognized it as Auston’s personal bulletproof car.

“Why is he going outside this late at night rather than staying at home and angering his wife?”

Wayne was curious, suspecting that Auston was going on a secret date with Megan. He filed the information away and planned to tell Silvia about it tomorrow. He had other plans tonight: visiting the pitiful woman waiting for him, Filomina!

It would be fine if he hadn’t celebrated his birthday, but keeping the High Reverend out of the loop when there was a party? Wayne’s heart ached for her at the thought.

It was not yet midnight, so he decided to visit her and offer her comfort while it was still his birthday.

***

When Wayne arrived at Filomina’s residence, the twins had already put on pajamas. They stared at him warily as he found his way to the High Reverend’s bedroom.

“What brought you here?”

Filomina was putting on a sheet mask. She was somewhat of a skin care expert and had developed her own formula.

Love made one youthful, but also insecure. The High Reverend had put in a lot of effort to make herself appear younger.

“Can I not visit you without a reason?”

“Don’t be flippant. That’s not what I meant...” Wearing a bathrobe, Filomina happily threw her arms around her young boyfriend. “At least you still have a heart. You’re not leaving tonight.”

“Yeah, today’s a special day. It’s my birthday.”

“Huh? It’s your actual birthday?” Filomina raised her voice. She had looked into Wayne and found out that his birthday was the eleventh of January, which was why she had tried to arrange a date in advance. However, Veryl told her that an illegitimate son would have a false birthday on the official record, so she didn’t do anything special.

She panicked. She hadn’t even prepared a gift! Wouldn’t Wayne think that she didn’t care about him...

A thought occurred to her. Filomina rested her head on Wayne’s shoulder and said, “Today’s your birthday. We should commemorate the day with the gift I’ve prepared for you for the past eighteen years. There are still two hours until midnight. I’ll give it to you now.”

Her leering eyes might as well be dripping with honey.

Eighteen years? A hundred and eighteen, maybe? Wayne swallowed the retort at the tip of his tongue and picked her up, walking toward the bathroom. “Let’s wait longer for the gift. I like antiques. Something with a long history only becomes more valuable as time goes by.”

“Hey, who are you calling antique?!”

“By the way, when are you going to become a legendary mage?”

“I’m not in a rush. You’re being impatient...”

Filomina stood in the bathroom, enjoying her young boyfriend’s service. It pleased her to see the way his pupils dilated as he undressed her. “Your support is incredibly effective. There is more potential to be tapped into with my life essence, so it’s better to build a solid foundation before ranking up.”

“You’re still building your foundation as a Gold-ranked mage?”

“To a higher existence, Gold-ranked mages are still in our infancy.”

“Makes sense. Let me check how impressive it is, then.”

***

Bang, bang, bang!

The next day, one of the twins knocked on the bedroom door and called out to the High Reverend. Wayne woke up beside Filomina. He remembered clearly that the voice belonged to Diede, the twin who had lost an arm. He was a hundred percent confident.

“Are you awake, High Reverend?”

Filomina opened her eyes and gave Wayne a kiss with her arms around him, her long hair running down her shoulders. Her pleasant fragrance lingered and clung to him.

“High Reverend?”

“Yes, Virna?”

“???”

Wayne couldn’t believe it. He wondered if Filomina had mixed up the twins, but he wasn’t going to question her since her assets were very convincing.

“Mr. Wayne’s butler called and said that he was needed for an urgent matter.”

As soon as Virna said that, she heard the thud of something falling on the floor from the bedroom. She pursed her lips and took two steps aside.

In three seconds, Wayne hurriedly emerged in pants he had obviously just put on. While buttoning his shirt, he walked toward the living room. “Diede, why was Veryl looking for me?”

I’m not my older sister. Please get it right, if only just once.

Virna sighed in resignation and said, “The butler’s still on the line, Mr. Wayne. He’s waiting for you and didn’t tell me any details.”

Wayne stomped his way to the living room on the first floor. Virna closed the bedroom door as she walked away. When she threw a casual glance at the room, she saw the High Reverend stretching languidly with not a single piece of clothing on, the sight incredibly alluring.

The High Reverend’s charm transcended sexuality, and even Virna felt her heart flutter. Thinking of the pretty boy who had just left, she pursed her lips in disapproval. He didn’t deserve someone as beautiful as the High Reverend.

“I understand. I’ll head to the Lando Estate at once.”

Wayne hung up and went into the sewers through the basement. By surrounding himself with Death energy, he erased any trace of fragrance clinging to him.

Auston had attended a meeting at the Ministry of Magic last night before visiting the Queen’s resort for an on-site inspection. After working overnight, he returned home in the morning. He phoned Wayne’s residence when he didn’t find him anywhere.

Veryl knew that Wayne hadn’t returned, so when he heard that Wayne wasn’t at the Lando Estate, he immediately told Auston that Wayne was home and would make it there as soon as possible.

***

Lando Estate.

Wayne emerged from the sewer and passed the identity checkpoint to enter his residence. He had turned into the Death Knight to shorten the travel time with portals, allowing him to manage his time perfectly.

In his study, Auston looked at his watch and waited. When he was counting down to the last second, Wayne showed up.

“Why would you go home when you have so many friends in your mansion?” Auston asked with a frown.

“I told you that we were nothing more than friends, and they only happened to all be women. Don’t just assume the worst about me,” Wayne shamelessly defended himself. While he didn’t care about his reputation, Kristen, Vera, and Mona were all nice girls, so Auston should watch what he was insinuating.

Megan made a face.

“Ha,” Auston scoffed. “You may be able to fool women with your lies, but be honest with me. Outside of the family, do you have other wo—”

“Oh, you just called Master gullible for being deceived by my apparent innocence into thinking I’m a good student. Just wait. I’ll tell Master your honest opinion as soon as possible.”

Auston scowled. Silvia was gullible to an extent; case in point, she brought up Wayne’s marriage yesterday. Why would she be so eager to push her daughter into a burning pit? Had she forgotten about her own experience? She hadn’t learned anything!

“Can’t say anything about that, can you?”

“Spare me the nonsense. You’re a good talker, and so am I. In the end, you won’t be the one laughing.” Auston huffed. “I’ll get to the point. Something went wrong for Her Majesty...”

“What went wrong?” Wayne’s expression turned serious. He said tentatively, “I saw you rushing out last night. Is Her Majesty approaching the end of her reign?”

“She’s quite healthy, thank you. She roars when she scolds people, and I’m pretty sure she can live for another century!”

“Poor Princess Elizabeth, having to wait another hundred years.”

Wayne snorted. That’s karma for you. Hey, you. Someone’s giving her a taste of her medicine for you[1].

“Cut the crap. I’ll speak, and you’ll listen. Don’t interrupt me again.” Auston gripped his silver coin. He had accidentally let Trash Jr. steer the conversation off track.

Once Wayne shut his mouth, Auston took a deep breath and said, “There’s a royal burgh[2] west of Londan, named Windsor. It’s less than forty kilometers away from Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty often visits Windsor Castle on the weekends for leisure...”

“Last night, an unknown force attacked Windsor Castle. The Order of Holy Light stationed there suffered serious casualties. Moreover, Saint George Church was robbed and emptied.”

“Wait!” Wayne cut him off. “There is a Heavenly Father church and an Order of Holy Light in Windsor Castle? Did I hear it wrong, or did you make a slip of the tongue?”

“Neither. The royal family once tried to divide the Church of Heavenly Father. Although the attempt didn’t ultimately succeed, it did bear some fruit,” Auston said. “If you find it hard to wrap your head around, consider the knight order a group of free mages. They have pledged allegiance to the royal family, and the knight captain hailed from the Tulip Families.”

Wayne knew about the history, but he hadn’t expected the Windsor royal family to so assertively bring the faith of Holy Light into the Free Mage Alliance.

“Saint George Church housed Her Majesty’s treasure. Each item is worth a fortune. She’s enraged and ordered the Ministry of Magic to look into the matter.”

“Just treasure?”

Wayne didn’t believe it. If only material treasure were lost, the Queen wouldn’t be so furious, given how wealthy the Windsor royal family was. She would simply use the theft as an opportunity for another raid. What was lost had to be more than mere riches.

Auston closed his eyes for a moment. “Although Her Majesty hasn’t made it clear, the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic have come to the same conclusion. What got stolen were the vessels the royal family prepared for the Seven Demon Lords, guarded by the Order of Holy Light. All seven of them were gone.”

Wayne sucked in a breath. Although Auston had warned him before, he still broke into goosebumps when the unspoken truth was put into words. The royal family had dealings with demons. They had been acquainted with hell for many years.

“Who would be that bold?” Wayne asked quickly. “Someone from the Church of Heavenly Father?”

“No, according to the traces left at the scene of the crime and the statement given by Hermann, the Knight Captain, the invader was a demon from hell...”

Auston glanced at Wayne.

“The two demons you told me about didn’t go head-to-head with the Death Knight. One of them attacked Windsor Castle and made the Ministry of Magic an enemy.”

1. A reference to how Queen Elizabeth II lived past a hundred and made her son wait to succeed the crown. ☜

2. In the real world, a royal burgh is a Scottish burgh established by a royal charter granted directly by the sovereign, each represented in the parliament. ☜