Myths Reawakened

Desiree paused, speculating about Wayne’s bloodline. Thanks to the Franc district’s investigation, she had received comprehensive information on Veronica, but not much on Wayne.

Information on Veronica was easy to find. Before becoming the District High Reverend of Windsor, Silvia had been the leader of the surgical strike unit of the Franc district. Being a Dragonblood made her an incredible fighter. Through the church’s file on Silvia, it was easy to find information on Veronica.

As for Wayne...

He was an archdeacon at the Church of Nature, but also a detective and an actor. He starred as the main male character of the movie King Kong, rumored to have a relationship with the famous Francan singer, Lily.

When Desiree received the information, she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. What even was going on? She didn’t care about Wayne’s rumored girlfriend. She wanted to know his role in the world of magic.

She did find out why he was good at speaking the Francan language, though. It was because of Lily.

No matter how Desiree tried, she couldn’t find out more about Wayne. He had been keeping too low a profile in the world of magic. It was, of course, impossible for Franc to find out about him being the Death Knight or an angel, and aside from that, Wayne wasn’t a mage who had received formal training, but a newcomer who had only gotten to know magic last year.

It had only been a year, less than the two and a half years for an idol trainee[1]. Moreover, Auston and Silvia had been hiding him too well, making it difficult to find his traces in the world of magic.

If investigation through paper trail didn’t work, a personal inspection should be conducted.

Desiree was curious about Wayne. She knew that Veronica had dragon blood. How strong did he have to be to act as a Dragonblood’s bodyguard?

Very strong! Alex staggered out of the forest, shaking his head. Before he could gain a steady footing, another punch sent him flying.

He was not only strong but also ruthless.

Alex got pinned to the ground and smashed. Although he was skilled and had mastered dozens of different fighting techniques, he couldn’t find a chance to use them when his life essence was completely overwhelmed. Even though he had tried enhancing his physique with mana, Wayne still easily overpowered him.

“Veronica, does your brother... also have dragon blood?”

Desiree gaped. That was the only guess she could make when Alex couldn’t even fight back.

“Yeah, he has dragon blood,” Veronica admitted with a serious nod.

Really? You must be lying if you’re answering my question without any pause.

Desiree frowned. “But when you introduced yourselves, you said that you were half-siblings with the same father. Is Mr. Lando’s ex also a Dragonblood?”

“Yeah, he’s a Dragonblood collector.”

...What the hell is a Dragonblood collector supposed to mean? It’s ridiculous. Even disregarding everything else, are you sure your father’s body can take that?

Well, he’s still alive, isn’t he? Veronica smothered a laugh. To quote Wayne, there was nothing to be proud of about cheating an honest person, no matter how good it felt. Only cheating a smart person could be considered a feat.

She had learned the joy of fooling smart people. It felt wonderful.

After two minutes of being completely overwhelmed, Alex surrendered, allowing his younger sister to treat him. His face was swollen and covered in bruises, but he wasn’t swollen anywhere else. He had to wonder if Wayne’s fist was locked onto his face or the other way around.

Desiree felt a pang in her heart. What a despicable man. Not even she had beaten her brother up so badly.

“What did I say? It’s unfair. But you just have to...” Wayne looked apologetic. He tamped down his urge to be a good Windsorian and chose to respect Alex’s autonomy. “As you said, I’ll be making the rules for tomorrow’s sparring session. I choose to stick to the same rules.”

Desiree shielded her brother and took a deep breath. “No need to waste more time. I’ll give you two pieces of information.”

“That won’t do. I don’t want to bully the weak. I would rather acquire the information fairly with my own hands.” Wayne insisted, not willing to take free offers.

What a shameless man. Were you a woman, you would surely become the Holy Maiden!

Desiree rolled her eyes. She didn’t want her brother to get another beating, so she offered three pieces of information, finally getting Wayne to cancel the sparring session tomorrow.

“The first test involves a magical domain—the Corridor of Nightmares. Created by the High Prophet, it can distort reality and dream, projecting fear and creating illusions to dig up the ugly side deep in the human heart.“

You promised three pieces of information, but you’re only offering one? Veronica turned to Wayne in confusion. It was now her instinct to seek an answer from the scumbag. He always had one.

Wayne did have an answer. He had extracted three pieces of information from that intel. The Corridor of Nightmares and the power of dreams were two things. Then the last but most important revelation was that the High Prophet was Alex and Desiree’s backer.

The High Prophet had sent the carrier, or the carrier might have been the High Prophet. It was so difficult to enter the estate with the other higher-ups none the wiser that Senna had personally delivered the package.

“What about the way to break the dream?” Wayne asked.

“Offer information as valuable in exchange, and I’ll tell you,” Desiree said unhesitantly.

“Forget it for now, then. Let’s talk in a few days.”

Wayne waved at her dismissively before leaving with Veronica. Desiree stomped in frustration. Then she kicked her brother hard.

“It’s all because of your softness that we lost twice!”

Hearing the tantrum Desiree threw, Wayne couldn’t feel better. Veronica also had to smother a laugh. She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Should we swap information? The Corridor of Nightmares sounds powerful. Given how bad you are, you must be harboring an ugly side that should stay hidden.”

“An ugly side...” Wayne stroked his chin. Compared to that, he was more worried about his secrets being exposed. Everything aside, it would be troublesome if the Death Knight suddenly emerged with the higher-ups of the church’s headquarters watching. Even the thought made him shudder. The Corridor of Nightmares was a problem.

“I asked you a question. What’s your ugly side?” Veronica was curious because of his silence.

“I got married, and you were wearing the bride’s gown...”

How is that ugly?

Veronica blushed, feeling her heart flutter. She turned away and huffed, “Daydreaming again? I’m not marrying you.”

“I’m not done yet. Aside from you, Kristen and Vera were also the brides.”

Veronica pouted.

(눈‸눈)

Pow!

Wayne hissed while rubbing his face. “Forget my boring ambition. What about yours? Is it about me?”

No, you never fight back in my dreams.

Blinking, Veronica hesitantly said, “Mother told me that dragon blood comes with a curse, and the more powerful we get and the higher rank we reach, the more formidable the eventual curse will be.”

“Tell me more. I want to know.” Wayne’s eyebrows furrowed. “Has Master’s curse been triggered before? Is that why she has been unable to reach Legendary rank?”

“I don’t know. Mother didn’t tell me...” Veronica shook her head. “Mother may not know the details. The curse’s the only thing I can think of that may become my nightmare.”

She described a nightmare she had pictured: due to her bloodline’s evolution, she transformed into a great dragon, and she brought destruction everywhere while breathing fire because her thoughts couldn’t keep up with her powerful physique.

Every time Vera the dragonslayer challenged her, she would hurl her into the sky with a sweep of her tail, making her a shooting star. And she would imprison Senior in her castle.

Veronica kept the latter part to herself, only saying that she might turn into an evil dragon. Because she had seen Megan in her great dragon form, she had enough detailed assets to create a vivid dream.

Wayne thought for a while, fingers stroking a chin. “That’s strange. If you’ve become a great dragon, why haven’t you trapped me in a castle?”

“That’s your dream. Not mine.” Veronica swatted his hand away from her chin.

Very right. Wayne couldn’t argue with that. He didn’t consider the Corridor of Nightmares a great problem since they could clear it by exchanging for the information, but he was concerned about the curse of dragon blood.

Master had dragon blood, and Veronica did, too. The curse would sooner or later act up. Perhaps the Corridor of Nightmare could be a chance to glimpse into the truth of the curse, allowing them to prepare for the eventual outburst.

Suddenly, Wayne remembered Senna. That Dragonblood had to be suffering from a curse, too. He wondered if she had overcome it, and how.

Marrying a woman three years older would be akin to gaining a gold brick[2]. He didn’t know how old Senna was—maybe over a hundred. She wouldn’t just be a gold brick, but a gold mountain.

While Wayne didn’t like the woman, he had to admit that his master’s master was capable. If she saw them as true successors, they would surely benefit greatly from her—at least saving fifty years of wasted effort.

“Veronica, the next time we meet Master Senna, be more polite to her.”

“Um, she’s been looking at me weirdly...”

Veronica implied her discomfort with Senna. The older woman looked at her like she wanted to eat her. Although Wayne looked at her with hunger, too, he clearly wanted to eat her in a different way.

“Then I’ll do it myself.”

Since Veronica wasn’t a very good actor, Wayne decided to take matters into his own hands. Then he thought about what could’ve become his nightmare—having all of his future girlfriends finding out about each other, having his secret identities exposed, finding out that he was actually Auston’s son...

Those weren’t real nightmares.

He asked himself what his true nightmare was and quickly found the answer: back on Dragonheart Island, the ancient god had shown up and extended an invitation to him.

“If I don’t follow the walkthrough and instead walk into the Corridor of Nightmares unprepared, will the ancient god descend?”

1. A meme from a Chinese celebrity, Cai Xukun. He once introduced himself as a trainee who’s been training for two and a half years, and that became an internet meme in China. When the number 2.5 or the period 2.5 years appear, he’ll be referenced as a joke. ☜

2. It’s a traditional belief in China that if a man marries a woman who’s three years older, the marriage will be harmonious. ☜