Myths Reawakened

“I can’t be an Oracle High Reverend.” Wayne shook his head. “You know me. My destination is in the stars. Power will only hinder my progress.”

Senna chuckled. “And not beautiful women?”

“There’s always beautiful scenery that makes you stop walking. There’s no way around it.” Wayne easily deflected her. Senna should just speak her mind if she wanted to tie him down for more roughhousing. She didn’t have to beat around the bush so much.

“With the empty spot, many are getting ideas,” Senna explained. “I don’t want to divide my authority, so I need someone powerful to make them give up. That’s why I want you.”

“So I’m only occupying the seat in name?”

“Yes, you’ll be an honorary Oracle High Reverend.”

“Then I’m good with it.” Wayne nodded. He would have a title, the status that came with it, and a salary, while not shouldering any responsibilities. Such a nice job suited a lout like him most. Besides, he did need the status. “Get it done as soon as possible. I’m paying the Church of Darkness a friendly visit as an Oracle High Reverend. Arrange it for me and give me the date.”

“Do you miss that woman so much?” Senna was reluctant to help.

“No, the situation there is complicated. I need to go have a look.”

It had been three months since Anastasia returned to the Church of Darkness. Between her two bodyguards, one was both offensively and defensively impressive, while the other was no easy opponent. They must have run into trouble if they still hadn’t found anything.

In fact, Ines might have been stirring up trouble to stop Anastasia from finding the truth.

The issue with the Church of Nature was mostly resolved, with Prussia remaining as the main source of problems. It involved the Gate of Hell, so the potential danger should still be taken seriously.

Wayne decided to pay the Church of Darkness a visit. He would have a meeting with Pope Ivan during the day and sit down with Holy Maiden Anastasia during the night. On one hand, he would be resolving the hidden issues with the church; on the other hand, the church would be another ally in taking down the formidable Prussia, making it three against one.

When Senna still seemed unconvinced, Wayne sent a few packets of mental images to her, finally quieting her dissents.

“The God of Storm and Thunder...”

“The Goddess of Sky...”

Senna frowned at Wayne. “Your appetite is getting worse. What’s your way in at the Church of Heavenly Father? An angel?”

Though she was confusing the cause and effect, she had reached the correct conclusion.

Wayne smiled in lieu of a response, urging Senna to arrange the visit as soon as possible. His obsessive tendency would make him lose sleep if he didn’t get this done.

Senna nodded. She was about to stand up, but decided otherwise and sat back down. She placed Elemental Mantra right before Wayne. “I no longer need this.”

She said that, but the reluctance in her eyes was thick.

“I’ll leave it with you. I don’t need it, nor does Moula.” Wayne shook his head. He told her not to focus solely on her work but to make time to study Elemental Mantra, trying her best to master the way to use draconic magic at will even without the divine artifact. Then she would teach him. Her student’s student wanted to learn from her personal experience.

Elemental Mantra contained a massive amount of information, just like the Philosopher’s Stone he had handed to Senna. Wayne had gained the Laws they contained, but couldn’t utilize them properly. He had been wielding them like blunt weapons. Though he could still smash people to death, he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to truly master the knowledge.

He thought of Filomina and Anastasia. Both were excellent mathematicians. They shouldn’t just be helping him with their bodies, but also with their brains. The same was true of Seleucia. Though she was an idiot, she was a magically gifted idiot. He would depend on her to figure out Storm and Thunder.

Senna put Elemental Mantra away, pleased. The more she looked at Wayne, the more happiness bloomed in her chest. She felt treasured. With narrowed eyes, she said, “I’ll arrange for you to visit the Church of Darkness as Oracle High Reverend. Remember to behave yourself outside and not get handsy with the Holy Maiden of Darkness. Otherwise, the reputation of the Church of Nature will suffer.”

Handsy? I’m just challenging my weakness.

“Speak!”

“...”

“Hmph!”

Interpreting Wayne’s silence as his determination to smear the church’s reputation, the Pope raged, lifting the hem of her long robe to discipline the defiant Oracle High Reverend. She wanted to challenge her weakness, too.

“Are you mad? You’re the Pope!”

Seeing that she was going to bare everything in broad daylight, Wayne hurriedly stopped her, shuddering from her unhinged tendency.

There are too many people here. I’ll kneel for you once we’re alone.

“The three of you, out.” Senna looked down coldly. “I’m going to discuss important church matters with the Oracle High Reverend. This is beyond your pay grade.”

She didn’t manage to have her discussion. Wayne scolded her for her audacity and spanked her thrice in punishment before kicking her out.

That made Ottilia look less murderous, but also more wary of Senna. The old witch had power and beauty, and she was willing to lower her pride for the sake of seduction. She was more succubus-like than a succubus. Ottilia wouldn’t be her match alone.

She turned to Regina with renewed eagerness.

Shuddering, Regina quickly shielded her sister. “I’m warning you. Boss has already spoken. You can’t go against his decision.”

Good, then I’ll take you!

***

That night, Wayne roamed outside the Holy Maiden’s chamber like a delinquent, just shy of writing on his face that he was here to have a deep late-night conversation with her.

Desiree hadn’t shown up. Her older brother, Alex, ended up chatting with Wayne for half an hour. From his martyr-like expression, it was obvious he was ready to follow the Windsorian tradition.

Satisfied, Wayne left. Since Desiree was avoiding him like the plague, she clearly hadn’t received the same oracle as Anastasia, which was good news. Good news should be shared with others, so Wayne paid the hard-working pope a visit.

There had been too many watchful eyes during the day; he had no choice but to disrespect the Pope. Now, he got on his knees and asked Her Holiness to mercifully forgive him and not make things difficult for him at work.

The Pope couldn’t easily forgive his transgression like that. Putting her robe on, she stomped on Wayne’s pride harshly.

***

Ten days later, March fifteenth.

Wayne was officially appointed the Oracle High Reverend, personally presided over by Pope Senna. The higher-ups of the church all gathered, and the three other Oracle High Reverends welcomed their new colleague with open arms.

They had to welcome Wayne. He was the Nature Knight.

The same day, Wayne was given the mission to visit the Church of Darkness for ten days. Pope Ivan of the Church of Darkness expressed his warm welcome in the letter.

He had to welcome Wayne. He was the goddess’s lover.

As soon as the schedule was finalized, Wayne set out for the airport, traveling light. Ottilia and Regina were left to continue their training by Pope Senna’s side, improving their professional capability as secretaries.

He spent a total of five hours at the airport. The terrible flight experience compelled him to complain once more. It was such unfair treatment that he didn’t have a luxurious private jet.

What came later was even worse.

It was mid-March, only the beginning of spring in Rus Federation. The perpetual snow and ice had yet to melt, and the weather only warmed up a little. On the silver land, crystal-clear icicles hung from the trees lining the streets, creating a picturesque scenery with the red walls, golden rooftops, white snow, and quaint architecture.

The locals didn’t know the Prussian language, and even in Prussia, they could just use the Rus Federation’s official language. It was a privilege that Francan people could never hope for.

While the streets of the Rus Federation were beautiful, the harsh wind threatened to freeze even the bone marrow. This was a hostile environment for regular people. The pedestrians wrapped their thick winter coats around them and hunched as they hurried along, afraid that the cold would catch up with them.

They all lived under the cruel, oppressive rule of the merciless coldness.

Wayne arrived in the Rus Federation as the Church of Nature’s Oracle High Reverend and envoy, with an entourage of thirty. It was quite an impressive delegation.

To show respect, the Church of Darkness had arranged a grand welcome at the airport. Rus Federation’s agents could be seen around the airport, showing the government’s close attention to the diplomatic exchange between the two churches.

This was the Chosen Land. Though the Rus Federation had red blood running in her veins, she still respected faiths. The Church of Heavenly Father, for example, had a stable foothold in this land.

Overall, the other five mainstream churches kept quite a low profile here, at least on the surface.

The Church of Darkness and Church of Death were particularly averse to attention. The former was used to it, always keeping to themselves in remote areas near the North Pole and South Pole. The latter, on the other hand, had gone missing en masse for some time. There were no known large bastions of Death anywhere, but only small bases across the world. Their influence came entirely from their followers’ voluntary efforts.

The Church of Darkness had a Pope and a Holy Maiden, and it had been keeping contact with the outside world, while the Church of Death had been cut off from the outside world completely. The Pope and the Holy Maiden hadn’t made an appearance for many years, and even the headquarters had moved to who-knows-where.

They were completely off the radar.

The leader of the Church of Darkness’s reception was an Oracle High Reverend named Varvara. She looked to be in her forties, beautiful in a mature, reserved way in her black robe.

Wayne didn’t understand why Ivan had made this arrangement. To Ivan, he was the Goddess of Darkness’s pet in the human world. Why would he send a beautiful lady to welcome his leader’s lover? Wasn’t he looking for trouble?

Varvara, on the other hand, was also curious. Ivan had emphasized that Wayne was a special person whom she had to welcome with enthusiasm. His expression was strange when he said that. It seemed like a mix of conflict, resignation, derision, and rage, but also deference and fear. Seeing the complicated expression, Varvara couldn’t help but ask who Wayne was for the Pope to treat him with such care.

She never got an answer.

Ivan had a lot of bottled-up grievances, but he didn’t dare to voice them. Even if he was watching his Holy Maiden daughter messing around with Wayne, he still couldn’t raise his voice.

Life was so cruel to him!