Myths Reawakened

“Hahaha—”

Kane hadn’t heard the degenerate man and woman’s conversation. When he saw that he was in the Great Sage Basilica, he laughed with renewed hope. “You’re powerful and own the Philosopher’s Stone and Twilight Despair, so I couldn’t beat either of you. However, you shouldn’t have taken me to my territory, where I’m blessed by Darkness.”

Have you considered that Darkness is right beside me?

Wayne looked at Kane quietly. The more insane the Great Sage was, the calmer he became. On second thought, the Great Sage was quite pitiful.

Another poor soul toyed with by the Goddess of Darkness!

As the statues lining the path radiated black light, Kane took a deep breath, the darkness in his body rising under his predecessors’ blessings. His enhanced power made him feel like he could kill Wayne and Ines with a punch.

He knew, of course, that it was only a delusion brought about by his sudden power-up. If he swung his fist at them, he would be the one to collapse.

He closed his eyes and whispered, using his thoughts to forge a path so that he could send his voice to another world—the Divine Realm of Darkness!

Wayne narrowed his eyes, recording the spatial disturbance with his thoughts. He was about to take a peek into the Divine Realm when he remembered that Ines was right beside him. He quickly tamped down his curiosity.

He couldn’t take a peek, or he might not be able to return.

Ines didn’t show any reaction. She didn’t seem disappointed, and neither did she sigh. Her game of Darkness with Wayne was only just getting started. She had made a great gamble, so she wasn’t trying to win parts of Wayne’s thoughts.

She wanted his everything!

The card table was fair. The more she wanted, the more she had to bet. If she lost, she would be left with nothing.

It was a race against time, and she had a lead of millennia on Wayne. She believed her odds were overwhelmingly higher.

Back to the present, a stream of thoughts responded to Kane’s whispered summons and traversed the spatial tunnel to descend through him.

“Kane, why did you summon me all of a sudden?”

“O great Devourer, as you can see, something happened to Lady Vichy.”

Kane asked and answered the question. What Kane had called the Devourer made a questioning noise at Wayne and Ines. After inspecting Ines closely, he said, “Such thick Darkness. I didn’t know there was a demigod avoiding the summons of the Divine Realm in the human world like you... You’re using Vichy’s body. Who are you?”

The Devourer was observant, but not that observant. He failed to recognize his superior.

Ines smiled. “Under the Goddess of Darkness’s order, I’m assisting this great man. He’ll become the goddess’s third subordinate god.”

“Nonsense!”

‘Kane’ looked furious. A great volume of thoughts flooded into his body. A faint vitality domain spread out, aiming at his rival, Wayne.

Huh? What have I ever done? Wayne grumbled silently, expanding his pale vitality field with a look of helplessness. “Sir Devourer, you misunderstood. I’m only a legendary mage, not even a demigod. How could I possibly be a subordinate god? Think about it carefully. She’s the demigod here. She’s your rival.”

“You’re right. I choose to kill both of you.”

The Devourer scoffed. Kane’s eyes glowed with crimson light as black mist rose around him, morphing into the projection of a coiling black python.

“Devourer Solsknar, you’ve falsified the goddess’s oracle to become a subordinate god, masking your selfishness with false loyalty. You have no right to become a subordinate god.”

Ines snapped, her gaze wavering as if she was trying to hide her fear of her opponent’s might. She took a step back and put Wayne before her. “This man is different. He has outstanding character and a compassionate heart. He honors his promise, respects others, and always treats the weak with care and consideration. He never mocks or looks down on others for their difficulties. Only he can exercise the power of Darkness as Her avatar.”

“...” x2

Though you’re setting me up, you spoke truth, Wayne thought.

Do you take me for a newborn god? Solsknar scoffed. There is no such person in the world.

Solsknar dismissed Ines’s comment. Although he hadn’t descended fully, he wasn’t blind. He could see the kind of man Wayne was—shameless, hypocritical, mean-spirited, despicable, greedy, selfish, cowardly, and overly cautious... just like him!

While he looked down on Wayne, he felt an overpowering murderous intent toward him. A scumbag with all the above-mentioned strengths would be able to make it big. He must not be left unchecked.

The projected black python growled, its massive thoughts crashing down on Wayne and Ines in the form of psychic assault. Wayne clutched the Philosopher’s Stone, trying and failing to teleport away. Facing the psychic attack that was lunging at him like a snake’s bite, he narrowed his eyes and met it head-on.

Boom!!

At the point of collision between the two sources of thoughts, black currents crackled away, tearing open the Void. The impact spread as tangible shockwaves.

Solsknar’s murderous intent blazed further. If the human could put up a fight even as a legendary mage, he absolutely must not be allowed to become a demigod! He had to die here!

The black python turned into reality. The projection of terrifyingly powerful thoughts entered the real world without any mana fueling it. In that instant, the wind howled, and thunder roared. Blazing lightning and wind blades cascaded down toward Wayne, the range of attack covering Ines, too.

Wayne’s eyes turned pale. His vitality field formed a defensive shield around him while avoiding Ines. All wind and lightning were kept outside his defense. The overwhelming flood of colorful magic vanished in an instant, along with all the volatile energy. It was as if they had never existed in the first place.

“Storm and Thunder...”

“Devourer...”

Wayne’s eyes glinted with realization. The Goddess of Darkness had two subordinate gods. The backup, Solsknar the Devourer, wanted to become one, but due to a lack of power, he turned his gaze to Seleucia and Sett.

Mainly Sett.

Seleucia had lost her Laws at the beginning stage of the War of Faiths, surviving only barely and severely weakened. Facing the pretty boy barging into her home, she could only hiss at him, unable to even maintain Her most basic dignity as the Goddess of Sky. Her remaining power was negligible.

Solsknar attempted to devour Storm and Thunder to empower himself, so he sought out Great Sage Kane, feeding him nonsense until he became Solsknar’s lackey. Then...

Wayne couldn’t tell. He wasn’t sure what role Vichy had played. Since she had died, she was most likely a victim.

With most of the truth revealed, Wayne turned to Ines, realizing that the Goddess of Darkness had used him to clean up the church and the Divine Realm. He couldn’t actually do anything with Her Divine Realm at this moment, so She clearly intended for him to teach Solsknar a lesson and punish him for burning Her warehouse.

Fine, fine. If this is the game you wanna play, don’t blame me for ruthlessly killing your third subordinate god before he could reach his peak!

Wayne’s eyes glinted murderously. There was no bad blood between him and Solsknar, but he had qualms with the way the Goddess of Darkness had manipulated him. He wasn’t cheap. Since She had made him conduct the investigation, She should be ready to pay the price.

Boom!!

His almost physical vitality field expanded, razing the pillars and statues to the ground while knocking Ines’s alluring figure off her feet. Mid-air, Ines broke into a faint smile.

The overpowering vitality field crashed toward Kane. The black python hissed silently as its vaguely visible vitality domain continued to enhance Kane’s vitality field, raising his power indefinitely through the demigod’s prowess.

After a boom, Wayne staggered three steps back.

‘Kane’ found himself forced back, too, barely stopping the inertia when his back hit the altar.

With crimson light radiating from his eyes, he said with a twisted grin, “Nice power. You’ll be unrivaled among legendary mages. If you’re allowed to reach demigodhood and master a few Laws, you’ll make a good subordinate god.”

His praise was uttered with killing intent. Solsknar admired Wayne’s power. He hadn’t been as powerful as Wayne when he was a legendary mage. Out of respect, he swore to destroy Wayne’s body and thoughts.

Roooar!!!

Kane spread his arms and unleashed a boundless darkness from his body. The incredible energy morphed into a quickly expanding black sphere. Everywhere the black light reached, it devoured the entire Great Sage Basilica, save for the murals of the Goddess of Darkness and Her two subordinate gods. The irresistible black light embodied Darkness’s all-encompassing nature, but also the Devourer’s desire.

Wayne maintained his vitality field with difficulty, barely making it an even fight. With a wave of his hand, Twilight Despair shot toward him in a streak of black light. He twisted his wrist and swung the greatsword down.

“What?!” Solsknar was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Wayne to be able to use Twilight Despair.

Whoosh!

A vertical line ran up the black sphere and bisected it.

The vitality field around Wayne transformed, expanding sideways. The front part turned into a great spear, shooting down like a quick arrow. Taking the lead, Wayne parted the darkness that was in his way with a powerful punch, while blazing heat vision struck Solsknar right in the head, charring and disintegrating his flesh and blood.

His gory skeletal head and the black smoke rising from his skull made him look like the Death Knight.

With a flash of black light, Wayne charged at Solsknar and swung Twilight Despair down toward his bloodied head. Solsknar spread his fingers with black light enveloping his hand, which increased in size right before Wayne.

After the fleeting collision of their thoughts, Wayne tore through the psychic influence, wielding Twilight Despair thirty percent faster.

Bam!

Solsknar caught the blade with his five fingers, the incredible power making his knees buckle and his feet sink into the dark soil until he was buried knee-deep. It was deeply humiliating for him to fail a series of attacks. He growled, his body suddenly increasing in size.

Black lightning crackled around Solsknar. Like a massive weather machine, he unleashed endless waves of lightning and wind. As soon as the destructive energy touched Wayne’s vitality field, however, it disintegrated like a mud cow melting into the sea.

Solsknar interpreted that as Darkness’s all-encompassing nature and a manifestation of the concept of devouring. Alerted, he felt an even fiercer killing intent.

He’s on the same path as I am. He could carry the name of the Devourer.

Suddenly, Twilight Despair teleported away, shooting from Wayne’s hand in a streak of black light. Surprised, Wayne watched as the giant black hand slammed toward him. His volatile heat vision collided with darkness at point-blank range, and the rumbling shockwaves toppled the entire basilica.

“Devourer, you’re caught red-handed. Are you still going to resist?” Ines snapped, standing by Wayne’s side. “The goddess has made a choice. You’ll never become Her subordinate god. If you give up now, you’ll be given a chance to redeem yourself. While the goddess detests evil and favors the good, She’s also merciful and kind.”

“Ridiculous,” Solsknar retorted. “You know nothing about the goddess. Darkness isn’t a compassionate goddess. She’s far more cold-hearted than you imagine.”

“Pfft!” Wayne covered his mouth and said gleefully, “That’s not accurate. You’re being too polite about it. That woman is bad news through and through.”

“Oh, you think so as well?” Solsknar said with pleasant surprise.

(눈‸눈)

Ines glared at them. As she said, Solsknar would never become a subordinate god. It didn’t matter who put in a good word for him!