Myths Reawakened

Outside the enclosed space, the mysterious man sighed in regret. It would be nigh impossible to take the antique silver coin from the Death Knight. He could give it a try by sending this army to the Great Cemetery, but there wouldn’t be much of a point. He was curious, but didn’t actually want the coin.

Using his thoughts to send Caim a message, he controlled Caim to continue, “You vanished for a period of time, during which your lover took charge of many of your responsibilities. I’m curious: where did you go and what did you gain? ...The silver coin of Death?”

Wayne frowned, extending his tentacle to whisper-shout in Veronica’s ear, “Hear that? Bad news travels fast. Auston and Megan’s affair even reached hell. I have to tell Master. You have to testify for me then.”

Veronica frowned, ignoring him.

If her memory served her right, a few years ago, the scumbag had become a recluse for a while, allowing only Megan to see him. Even Veronica, his daughter, needed Megan’s permission to meet him. And it was during that time that unsavory women frequented the scumbag’s office. When she asked, she was told that he was doing something important.

Megan didn’t say what important matter Auston was up to, but Veronica could make her guess once she was older. It had to be something depraved. And out of disgust, she cut ties with the scumbag, calling him Mr. Lando on the rare occasions that she ran into him.

Hearing the demon’s words, she wondered if there was more to the story.

“I’m also curious. Who am I actually talking to?”

How troublesome. Auston was certain that he was talking to someone from the Ministry of Magic, but he wasn’t sure how much the person knew about him and how seriously they suspected him. While he knew nothing about them, they clearly knew him quite well. He hated being on the disadvantaged side of an information asymmetry.

“I’m Caim!” the demon familiar stated. Failing to find out Auston’s secret, he turned to Wayne. “How about you, Mr. Wayne? What secrets are you hiding? Did Vice Minister of Magic Obed really die to an Astral Worm? Or did you kill him?”

“He was a legendary mage with the three faith magics of the Life Alliance at his disposal, mastering numerous divine arts. And he had many powerful magical items...”

“What exactly did you do to make him open the Gate of Truth?”

Veronica gulped quietly. The demon was insinuating that Scumbag Jr. had killed a legendary mage. Was it true? It hadn’t been long since he started learning magic!

She suspected that the demon was making a false accusation, but just like the case with Auston, she knew these two men too well and had to wonder if the demon was telling the truth.

She realized that she didn’t know them at all, actually.

“Obed was killed by an Astral Worm inside the Gate of Truth, as confirmed by the Ministry of Magic. How can I, a Silver-ranked mage, ever be his match...” Ignoring Auston’s inquisitive gaze, Wayne shrugged. “As for why he opened the Gate of Hell, maybe he was just showing off his vitality field. Ever heard that villains die because they speak too much? You’re a perfect example.”

Caim shook his head, breaking into a smirk. “Like father, like son. You both keep your secrets stubbornly. However... how much do you know about each other?”

“...”

Wayne and Auston frowned. It was an obvious ploy to drive a wedge between them, but they couldn’t help but fall for it.

Panicked, Veronica grabbed Auston’s elbow and Wayne’s tentacle. They deflated at the same time and said in unison, “Watch yourself. Don’t let me catch you in Londan!”

Their identical threats made Caim laugh out loud, while Veronica felt her heart sink. She had to ask Silvia where Wayne came from—or perhaps what his mother’s name was.

The mysterious figure’s thoughts pulled out of Caim, and the familiar’s laughter suddenly halted. Pressing a hand downward, he commanded the vessels of the six demon lords to launch an attack.

Wayne pulled Veronica behind him with a tentacle. Abandoning his act altogether, Auston drew several cards easily with no sign of exhaustion. All the cards were high-ranked ones like Jacks, Queens, and Kings, from the clubs and diamonds suits. Projections appeared one by one.

Growl—

A great dragon roared, and a winged lion flapped its wings. Several mythical creatures appeared before Wayne.

Auston hopped onto a giant eagle with Veronica, soaring high into the air. The rest of the creatures either teamed up with the knights or charged at the demon lords’ vessels alone. Auston left Wayne behind in the center of the chaotic battlefield because he wanted to test Trash Jr.’s power.

That didn’t surprise Wayne at all. He was even a little relieved. If Veronica weren’t here, Auston would’ve shamelessly stood on the demons’ side.

He transformed his hands into long blades and swept across the battlefield in the form of the familiar eyeball abomination. His pale body elongated, and with a single step, he was suddenly right before the succubus.

Since he was going to fight, he might as well pick an eye candy as his target.

Caim’s figure faded, ignoring the concerted offense from the Nature Knight and the Darkness Knights. Floating up, he chased after the giant eagle Auston was riding on.

His true form was a mutated bird with a serpentine neck, resembling a crow overall. He had incredible flying speed, and even in human form, his speed was extraordinary, allowing him to quickly catch up with the eagle.

Auston cursed under his breath, commanding the eagle to dive down and the Nature Knight and Darkness Knight to protect him and his daughter. He shot down Veronica’s request to join the fight.

The battlefield was a mess of arrows, blade auras, and swinging spears. The multicolored explosions of different divine powers shattered the weak space and triggered numerous collapses.

Wayne confronted the succubus. Ignoring her greatest weapon, namely her beauty, he made one deadly move after another, aiming at her neck with every swing.

He had picked the right enemy. The way she bounced and jiggled during the fight was pleasing to the eyes. Fighting the giant fly wouldn’t have been as enjoyable.

Swoosh!

His fierce blades crossed and bisected the succubus at the waist. Her afterimage faded while her real self teleported behind Wayne, whipping her legs toward him the same way she had recruited the Death Knight. The kick left pink trajectories in the air amid the booming sound of air splitting. All the while, her scorpion tail whipped around, the poisonous tip thrusting toward the large eyeball in Wayne’s chest.

Rather than putting on a defense, Wayne allowed the succubus to smash his head as he swung his bladed arms backward to cut off possible escape routes, his four tentacles clutching the succubus’s legs tightly.

Got you! x2

The stinger pierced through the large eyeball. The poison gushing out melted half of his pale body, starting from his chest and reaching his abdomen and legs.

The poison’s composition was unknown, but its potency was evident. It didn’t simply damage physical bodies, but also worked on Wayne’s thoughts.

He stilled. The upper half of his body was dragged into the sky by the succubus.

The next second, the succubus suddenly found the world spinning around her. She couldn’t extract her legs from the vise-like grip of the tentacles, and she was soon hurled and slammed to the ground.

Bam!

She landed and got lodged in a crater of her own making. Large swathes of dirt and soil rippled along the cracks covering the ground. Her head rang. Before she could resist, the tentacles lifted her and slammed her again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wayne’s upper body fell to the ground. White foamy flesh writhed and regenerated his missing body parts anew. His ten fingers transformed into pale stings. Retracting his four tentacles, he pulled the succubus right into her death.

The ten stings pierced through the succubus’s face, chest, and abdomen. An attack without faith could not erase the Lord of Lust’s divine power in the succubus and thus could not kill her. With Auston watching from the side, Wayne didn’t want to expose too much, so he broke off his ten tentacles to plant his white tissues inside the succubus’s body.

They grew uncontrollably!

In an instant, the succubus’s chest and abdomen bulged, and all orifices of her body opened with white foam gushing out, twisting and forming a pale tree that rose from the ground. Various twisted faces covered the tree, making a cacophony of low, unintelligible whispers.

Whoa, that’s messed up!

Both friends and foes in the chaotic battle reflexively pulled away from the eldritch horror. Only the massive fly representing Gluttony flew over, buzzing along. Its sharp mouthparts tore through the air, and the twisted hands and feet in its chest area moved to the sides, swallowing Wayne into its fanged spiral maw.

Hiding in the dark, the mysterious man inspected the pale tree curiously.

“Power of the Astral Plane...”

“His evolution differs from anyone else...”

“Did Obed only fail because he opened the Gate of Truth? Then...”

“Why did Obed open the Gate in the first place? In his world, he should be God.”