Myths Reawakened

The Holy Maiden selection was more relaxed than Wayne thought it would be. Every day, he either trained or got punished by Veronica; every now and then, he would visit their neighbors and give Alex a good beating.

Alex was beyond resigned. He couldn’t beat his younger sister or Wayne, while Veronica never gave him the time of day. His already brooding face now seemed etched with all the misery in the world. He felt like he was falling into a depression.

On March twelfth, the first round of selection officially commenced, saving Alex from the torment.

Four days ago, mages sent by the headquarters had conducted construction in front of the number four and number eight mansions overnight, making a real ruckus. After repeated testing in the afternoon, they confirmed that the portal was functioning without issue.

It took headquarters four days to begin the first round of selection. Setting aside whether Wayne ever intended to become the Anointed One, he would’ve lost his patience even if he had wanted to win.

The higher-ups of the headquarters were too inefficient. Were Wayne the Pope, he would’ve had the candidates get changed and walk on a runway. Whoever scored the highest would be the Holy Maiden. The whole process would take no more than three days.

Then he would provide bedside instruction and explain the script to her at night, tapping into her acting potential to broaden her range. That would give the church a qualified Holy Maiden!

It would be easy, taking no more than half a year.

Unfortunately, communication technology was not yet advanced enough, or Pope Wayne would’ve invited the public to participate in the selection, allowing all registered followers to vote. That would be a grand event that made Nature’s two allies, Sun and Moonlight, pale in comparison.

Despite his grievances, Wayne knew that it had taken this long because the higher-ups were testing the candidates’ resourcefulness. The Holy Maiden could be eye candy, but not an idiot.

It was intentional for four candidates to live in two neighboring mansions, and the candidates had to make an important decision between taking out the rivals they knew the most or forming an alliance to overcome difficulties together.

The portal came alive. On the other side was the Corridor of Nightmares. Standing before it, Wayne spoke with his lips parted but not moving, “Stick to the plan. I want to see your nightmare. We must find out more about the curse of dragon blood, so you can’t follow the walkthrough for this round.”

Veronica nodded. This was a rare opportunity. If they could find out more about the curse in advance, it would greatly help them overcome the difficulties they would meet in the future.

She trusted Wayne’s intelligence and competence. Even if her nightmare became reality, the scumbag would be able to deal with it.

“And don’t make a move against Alex and Desiree. The Corridor of Nightmares is a test on all four of us, and we have the walkthrough to easily pass this round, but that doesn’t mean the subsequent rounds will be as easy...”

Wayne gave her a reminder: “If my guess is right, the higher-ups are far from a united front. The selection this year doesn’t involve actual matches in most of the rounds. The tests in the early stages are scoring-based, and candidates will be eliminated in every round. Perhaps there will be loser brackets, too. Only at the very end...”

At the very end, they would finally let their fists do the talking!

This was the world of magic after all. No matter how well-crafted the tests were, nothing was more convincing than pitting the candidates against each other in a real fight.

That was in line with the current tension between the higher-ups. The candidates each higher-up supported would be given a chance, and throughout the selection, interests would be exchanged during every round.

He wondered how many meetings the higher-ups had convened and how many shoes they had thrown to come up with the framework of this year’s selection.

The two mages sent by headquarters examined the portal once more. After confirming that everything was in order, they handed Wayne and Veronica each a waiver of liability statement to sign. The waiver didn’t specify where they would be transported to, only that they thereby accepted all risks and would be required to figure out the actual test on their own.

Wayne stepped through the portal first, entering the Corridor of Nightmares.

Before his eyes lay a world of tall black walls and a white floor. The black walls reached through the clouds and the edge of the sky, and from where Wayne was as the starting point, they twisted and turned to form a maze.

Pow!

Wayne punched a black wall. The cracks quickly spread, and the wall threatened to collapse, but it didn’t. The next second, it reverted to its original state like a game stage being refreshed.

There might be someone watching them, so Wayne had made the attempt to show that he hadn’t cheated.

Veronica followed him in. Having learned of the solution to the test, she led the way and took three hundred steps along the winding corridor of the maze. Her nightmare greeted her.

The world around her spun, the black walls and white floor quickly flying away. Like a free fall from the sky, she landed and saw the Lando Estate. She and Wayne found themselves on the lawn before the main house. Monica, the black cat, was taking care of its business on the lawn.

Their sudden appearance scared it into jumping, its business cut off. As soon as it was back on the ground, it scrambled and fled into the grove with its four limbs disagreeing with where they were going.

From afar, shrieking meows could be heard.

“......”x2

(눈_눈)x2

Is the detail necessary? Wayne mumbled silently, patting Veronica on the shoulder. “Remember, all you’re seeing from now on is a dream. Don’t trust anyone but me, get it?”

Veronica nodded. Wayne had used the solution to the problem, so he wouldn’t fall into the actual dream the Corridor of Nightmares conjured for him. Everything she was seeing now was a dream of twisted reality; it was her own illusion.

“Come on. Let’s go inside and see how realistic everything is.”

They walked into the main house and scouted around, seeing not a single maid—actually, the house seemed empty of any living soul.

Until it wasn’t. The door to the study opened. Megan slowly walked out, nodding at the young master and young lady. When asked, she said that she was going to look for Monica.

Auston wanted to pet the cat.

Veronica popped her head into the study. Trash Sr. was reading a newspaper on the sofa while fiddling with his antique silver coin. After a glance at his children, he turned back, ignoring them.

How smug. He deserves punishment.

“He’s not my nightmare...” Veronica thought for a moment, letting out a sigh of relief. “I’ll be honest with you. In my dream, he was crushed by a great dragon.”

“As he should,” Wayne commented, taking out a handgun and pulling the trigger at Auston.

Bang!

Auston slumped on the sofa with his eyes widened. Between his eyebrows, the gunshot wound was still smoking. Black blood streaked down his cheek and dripped down, gradually drenching the newspaper.

“What are you doing?”

Veronica was shocked. Looking at Trash Sr., she couldn’t stop her heart from clenching even though she knew that it was an illusion.

“In case a great dragon crushes him, I decided to take him out first.” Wayne blew at the gun barrel and waggled his eyebrows. “To tell you the truth, I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

Veronica glared at him, clenching her teeth. “At the end of the day, he is your father.”

“It’s just an illusion. The real deal won’t die...”

Veronica’s gaze was so vicious that Wayne stepped back, hurriedly explaining himself.

It was then someone who should’ve shown up the least appeared—Silvia emerged from the end of the corridor. Veronica panickedly stepped between Wayne and her, worried that he would shoot her mother thoughtlessly, too.

He shouldn’t do that even in a dream.

“Veronica, Wayne, what are you two doing?” Silvia came closer and closer. Smelling gunpowder and blood in the air, her expression darkened.

Wayne immediately shoved the gun into Veronica’s hand, whispering, “You take care of her. I can’t do it.”

And you think I can?

Veronica hurled the gun at the wall furiously.

By then, Silvia had already reached the door to the study. The gunshot wound on Auston’s forehead stunned her into inaction. She was so shocked that she even forgot to breathe. A chill that reached the bones hit Wayne and Veronica, making them shudder.

Boom!

Someone smashed through the glass window and wall into the study with surging murderous intent. Seeing Auston’s lifeless form from the back, her face twisted instantly.

Megan!

Her eyes turned crimson as her body expanded uncontrollably. Terrifying heat spread in the air. Dragon howls resounded and reached heaven.

Yes, howls. Two dragons were howling.

Under Veronica’s fearful gaze, both Megan and Silvia had transformed into great dragons, each spanning over a hundred meters long. They toppled the rocky walls like they were papier-mache. The devastated corridor and the study fell to the ground floor.

Veronica nervously faced the ire of the two great dragons—her family. She struggled to give an explanation through clattering teeth.

It was all an illusion!

White dragon tail slammed down like a small mountain, brushing past Veronica with a great enough force that the resulting gust thundered against her eardrum and scattered her blonde hair, cutting her cheek like razors. She heard the sounds of bones breaking. Blanching, she turned around blankly.

Where Wayne had been standing lay a dragon tail. Crimson blood pooled and spread. Only a severed arm remained on the floor.

Growl—

The third great dragon joined the stage. The Lando Estate faced destruction on an epic scale and was soon razed to the ground.