Myths Reawakened

Frank had not only tampered with Douglas’s thoughts, but also planted the Divine Comedy of the Seven Deadly Sins within him, transforming him into a demon familiar through the Book of Hell.

Due to Frank’s own faith, Douglas could be considered a familiar of the Lord of Pride.

“Go then. Prove yourself and claim the justice you deserve. Auston and the Queen owe you.”

Frank opened the car door and departed. The convoy of luxury cars emerged from the realm of darkness, continuing toward Buckingham Palace. Sitting in the back seat of one of the cars, Douglas wiped the sweat from his forehead with a composed look on his face, no longer lost.

“I’ve got it. According to my investigation, Frank of the Turner family is an expert in Hell. The Queen values and depends on him. His research can surely help me.”

Meanwhile, after distancing himself from the vehicles, Frank had once again reverted to his mysterious appearance with dark mist shrouding his face. He slowly stepped into the darkness, heading toward the Ministry of Magic’s headquarters in Londan.

“The Book of Hell can still evolve. Before the main course, the divine blood, I’ll use Bedfrith and Bourne as appetizers, along with those two legendary mages from Franc. I hope they’ll bring me some surprises...”

“Finally, there’s Auston. I didn’t see your secret last time. I hope you’ll be more honest this time.”

“Oh, I almost forgot about you, Wayne Lando...”

“Your evolution path is quite interesting and has brought many surprises to the Book of Hell. If I extend an invitation to you, will you follow the great Lord of Pride?”

***

Lando Estate, study.

The father and son sat across from each other, toying with their respective antique silver coins. Auston’s face was expressionless as he stared at the little trash can. It was like looking into the mirror and seeing himself from twenty years ago. The more he looked, the more annoyed he became.

Why was Wayne imitating him and playing with a silver coin? Was he trying to replace Auston as the head of the family?

Dream on. It’s not happening!

“That’s the situation. Last night, those Tulip Families were caught together, and two legendary mages were captured. They all swore allegiance to the Queen.” Wayne raised an eyebrow, immediately bringing up loyalty. “See, as the heir of the Lando family, I gave absolute support to your loyalty to the Queen. Although I didn’t reveal myself, the Death Knight proved my allegiance through action.”

Auston’s head hurt. “What are you trying to do? With the Tulip Families taken out of the picture, tomorrow night’s banquet will be solely for the Lando family. Do you want me to transform into the Darkness Knight?”

That was impossible. Auston knew that Wayne wouldn’t do that. With the Death Knight present, it wouldn’t be time for the Darkness Knight to be exposed. To put it in Wayne’s terms, letting Auston transform into the Darkness Knight and hog the spotlight would be worse than killing Wayne.

So what are you planning?

“You’re overthinking it. The Darkness Knight can’t be exposed. If you’re exposed, Master will lose her job as the High Reverend of the Church of Nature...”

Wayne shook his head. As he spoke, something occurred to him, and he muttered to himself, “Maybe that’s viable. From another angle, the Church of Nature’s High Reverend would essentially have tamed the Darkness Knight single-handedly, resulting in the Church of Nature’s landslide victory. Master might even be promoted and become the Pope.”

Auston rolled his eyes. “If Silvia becomes the Pope, she’ll have to go to the headquarters of the church, and the family will fall apart.”

“True. It’s best that she doesn’t get promoted.” Wayne nodded seriously, rubbing his hands together. “So, how about it? You have no way out now. Have you figured out what you’re doing tomorrow night?”

“I have no idea whatsoever!”

“But the Queen does!”

“I’ll calm the Queen down. That’s all.”

“Right. I believe you.” When Auston stubbornly refused to accept reality, Wayne changed the subject rather than pressing further. “How’s your investigation into the divine blood and the mist? Have you made any preparations?”

Auston scoffed. “Why should I tell you?”

“Because the Death Knight will help you tomorrow night. If you have no hidden cards, the Death Knight will worry about you, and in the heat of the moment, blood will flow until rivers form. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Wayne waggled his eyebrows, demonstrating the true meaning of manipulation.

Technically, Wayne was manipulating Auston in the same way the Goddess of Darkness’s messenger had threatened Auston—targeting Auston’s weakness, his family, leaving him with no choice.

Forget the lies about being loyal to the Queen. Wayne didn’t believe that Auston was the blindly loyal type. That was evident enough from how easily he had sacrificed the Princess’s safety. In Auston’s world, family always came first, followed by order—a stable order.

In Windsor, the ancestral laws must not change. Auston had been loyal for a reason. If the status quo would hurt his family, he would do everything he could to disrupt order.

Auston clutched the silver coin and said in exasperation, “I have two silver coins. One was given to me by the Queen in compensation. Through it, I can limit the mist in Londan. The Queen’s biggest trump card will be nullified. Tomorrow night, the Death Knight alone can more than handle everything.”

Auston believed that the Queen wouldn’t pull that card, but never said never. He still prepared a countermeasure.

“As expected of you. That didn’t take you long.” Wayne made a face. “But didn’t you do it too quickly? You made the preparation a long time ago, didn’t you?”

In response to Auston’s silence, Wayne said in realization, “You only had one silver coin in the beginning. Then you acquired Obed’s coin, which was taken by me. Later, you conned another one from the Queen. Looking at the timeline, you made the preparation the day Obed died...”

He counted on his fingers. “If my memory serves me right, Obed died last November, just about a year ago. You couldn’t have looked into the mist and the divine blood only after getting the coin, however. I understand. You’ve been planning for a rebellion for a long time.”

Auston was too tired to defend himself against Wayne’s false accusations. “Just don’t do anything unnecessary at the banquet. You don’t crave power, and causing trouble won’t do you any good.”

“What are you saying? I’m not attending the banquet. The Queen didn’t issue an invitation for me!”

“The Death Knight—”

“Then find the Death Knight at the Great Cemetery tonight. Why are you talking to me about it?”

“...”

***

September twenty-eighth, seven o’clock at night.

Headquarters of the Ministry of Magic.

The magnificent banquet hall was decorated like a palace. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting soft light on the extravagant decorations and the vivid murals on the wall. The legends and historical myths portrayed dragged those who stopped to look into a fantastical world.

In the center of the hall, several long tables stood, covered in white tablecloths. Flowers adorned the pristine canvases, accompanied by a variety of intricate tableware and delicacies.

Red wine swayed in glasses. Music reverberated in the space as backtrack for the conversations of high society, creating an elegant atmosphere. All of the guests in attendance were from the Tulip Families. Although they weren’t all great scholars, they had all received higher education. Knowing the purpose of tonight’s banquet, they never failed to mention the Queen and their loyalty.

Among them, Auston and Silvia stood out.

Holding her husband’s arm, Silvia gently swayed a glass of juice, noticing how the other Tulip Families were avoiding them. She glanced at her bastard husband and asked, “What’s going on? You didn’t tell me that you were ostracized before we came.”

Auston sighed. “I don’t know how to explain. Just watch.”

He looked toward the front of the banquet hall, where several seats were arranged. The main seat undoubtedly belonged to the Queen, but the other seats puzzled him.

Three chairs were arranged to suggest that the guests were on equal footing with the Queen. They only differed in color and size. The Princess and Prince clearly didn’t warrant such respect. If the grey chair belonged to the Death Knight, how about the black one? The Darkness Knight?

If the Darkness Knight was making an appearance, why didn’t Auston know?

He couldn’t figure it out. He only knew that there would be trouble tonight. With a worried expression, he turned to Silvia. “Your student... he’s a real troublemaker.”

Silvia didn’t understand what the bastard was talking about. Just as she was about to ask what wrong their son had done, she saw three figures entering through the door and immediately understood.

He was a real troublemaker.

The leading figure was Filomina, High Reverend of the Church of Moonlight. She wore a white evening gown with a white veil covering her face, her hair pinned up. Her elegant and noble appearance outshone everyone. Though only half of her face was visible, she made her twin retainers seem utterly mediocre.

After her appearance, the banquet hall fell silent for three seconds. The men shifted their envious, resentful gaze to Auston. Since Wayne wasn’t here, Auston bore all their hostility as his father.

Auston was numb. He wanted to explain, but no one would believe him.

Amused, Silvia observed Filomina from the perspective of a mother-in-law, inwardly praising her beauty. She had a stunning face, a flawless figure, and an unrivaled grace. She was even a legendary mage...

How did her son manage to land such a perfect woman?

As a mother, Silvia was pleased with Filomina. She could forgive their unpleasant encounters in the past, such as when Filomina insinuated that she was an old woman. It was all a misunderstanding. Filomina just had to serve her well as a daughter-in-law, or Silvia would kick her out.

Silvia felt pretty good until she remembered her daughter. She rolled her eyes and glared at Auston. “Look at the fine example you set. Wayne learned from you and changed. He wasn’t like this before.”

(눈‸눈)

Could it be that he’s always been this kind of person, only he’s gotten cocky and doesn’t care enough to keep pretending?

Auston couldn’t say anything. When Wayne represented the Ministry of Magic to appease Filomina, Auston had been in support. He had expected Wayne to go through the motions and just buy time for the ministry to find the traitor. Who knew that Wayne would actually go through all the motions with Filomina?

Filomina scanned the crowd and didn’t find her young boyfriend, but seeing her in-laws, she approached with her two retainers, greeting the Landos politely.

Wayne had told her that Silvia was only his master, but later admitted that Silvia was his mother. Filomina, as a legendary mage, wasn’t going to show Wayne’s master much respect, but his mother was a different story. After some hesitation, she said quietly, “Mother, have you seen Wayne?”

“...” x2

How well behaved you are! x2

Do you hear yourself? Auston despaired.

Silvia was delighted. Say that a few more times. I like the sound of it.

“Wayne didn’t come tonight... He did say he would be here, but I haven’t seen him yet.”

Silvia pushed Auston aside, telling the bastard to stand in the corner. She examined Filomina up close, getting more satisfied the more she looked at her, but also more worried for Veronica.

She was conflicted.

Filomina was about to say something when Queen Sophelia, the host of the banquet, made her entrance. Following her was Baron Kilmer and two figures draped in robes. The one in a black robe appeared to be a woman, and the one in a tattered grey robe...

The Death Knight?

Reel your Death energy in. Your armor’s showing.

“Kekekeke—”