Myths Reawakened

“Traitor, you’ve disgraced the Goddess of Moonlight!”

“You’re the one who disgraced the Goddess of Sun. Put your clothes on. Your backside is practically exposed,” Galen said darkly.

Corte’s face flushed. She tugged at the hem of her shirt and glanced down at the black robe before looking back at Wayne’s well-meaning expression. After some struggle, she clenched her jaw and insisted, “Even naked, I will never accept charity from a demon. If I’ve brought the goddess dishonor, I’ll beg for her forgiveness and proudly tell her that I did not back down in the face of a demon!”

Galen’s face went a shade darker. She huffed, “Congratulations, the demon is about to grant your wish.”

“Speak for yourself. The robe you’re wearing was conjured by the demon’s thoughts. He can take it away whenever he pleases,” Corte shot back.

There was obviously history between them. They reminded Wayne of Senna and Anastasia. He interrupted their squabble, “I’m speaking completely objectively as a neutral third party. I’m not going to take the robe back, so wear it without worry.”

Galen narrowed her eyes, giving him a bow with a slight smile on her face. Clearly, she was already brewing a scheme.

Corte’s temper remained untamed. She said she wouldn’t wear the robe, and she didn’t. Instead, she pressed the shirt to her body to ensure that the demon couldn’t grant her the wish of nakedness.

Wayne snapped his fingers. Givenchy fetched two robes from a distance with a wave. The gold robe and silver robe were the magical equipment that the two Holy Maidens had been wearing before Givenchy stripped them.

Surprised, Corte picked up her golden robe and put it on, covering her exposed body and recovering some sense of security. Her expression relaxed, too.

Galen looked down at the black robe she was wearing, then at the silver robe on the ground. She stiffened.

The moral of the story was that only by knowing one’s enemy could one win every battle. Making a plan before learning about one’s opponents would only backfire.

Wayne looked at Galen with amusement, tilting his head with a grin. “So, Holy Maiden of the Church of Moonlight, what will you do? Will you keep the robe conjured by the demon on, or change in front of him?”

Galen quietly picked up the silver robe and pulled it on right over the black one.

Right, she doesn’t need to take anything off. Wayne huffed. He hadn’t considered the third option.

Shaking his head, he dispersed the black robes and said with utmost seriousness, “At this point, I’m sure you can see that I’m no demon. This has all been a misunderstanding.”

“Nonsense!” Corte scoffed.

“Think carefully before you open your mouth. We’re in the middle of nowhere. I could lock you both up for the rest of your lives, and when the church asks, I’ll simply say that a demon has taken you. I guarantee that no one will suspect anything.” Wayne shrugged, giving them the hard truth.

“The goddess will give us justice!” Corte insisted.

“There’s no ‘us’. You’re on your own.” Galen quietly sidled toward Wayne.

“Bastard! Traitor! What happened to your devotion to the Goddess of Moonlight?”

“Devotion doesn’t mean throwing your life away,” Galen said dryly. “You’ve been talking back to the demon every time he says anything. From my perspective, it’s as if you’re begging him to take your purity, and you’ll be offended if he doesn’t.”

It wasn’t shameful to read the room and lower one’s pride when necessary. Someone as stubborn as Corte would only get what she was resisting.

Galen smiled at Wayne. “I surrender. Whatever intelligence you require, I’ll provide it honestly. If you need me to stay in the Church of Moonlight as a spy, I’ll do it without complaint.”

“Excellent!” Wayne gave her a thumbs up, patting his thighs. “Come sit. You’ll be a demon’s lover from now on.”

Galen kept her expression neutral. “I carry the goddess’s restriction. As soon as I lose my purity, the goddess will sense—”

“Cut the crap. Are you going to sit down or not?”

“I will. I’ve already offered you my loyalty, so this is nothing,” Galen reasoned. “However, I have the important mission of infiltrating the Church of Moonlight. I can’t lose my purity until the mission is done.”

“You’re overthinking it. I’m a demon without ambition, and I’m only after your body. I never plan to send you back as a spy.”

“...”

“Hahaha—”

According to the law of conservation, Galen’s smile had transferred to Corte’s face. She couldn’t be more entertained by the sight of Galen getting outwitted at every turn.

When dealing with a demon like Wayne, those who thought they were clever would suffer, while the straightforward ones would receive favorable treatment. Case in point: Seleucia, Isabella, and Regina had been leading a good life because they were the opposite of shrewd.

“What are you waiting for?” Wayne patted his thigh again. “Sit.”

Galen’s expression changed several times. In the end, she did not take a single step toward him.

“If you don’t have the nerve, don’t make the claims. Those who can carry their words into actions are the real professionals. I’m teaching you a lesson so that you won’t suffer worse in the hands of a real demon.”

Galen kept her skepticism to herself, while Corte frowned and said bluntly, “Who are you, really? What do you want?”

“I’m a chosen knight.”

“But you don’t have a divine artifact!”

“I do now...”

Wayne smothered a sigh, reaching into the void to draw White Night Creed.

The moment the silver longbow appeared, Galen’s pretty face stiffened. She muttered, “Impossible,” “It’s got to be a fake,” and so on. Meanwhile, Corte struggled to recover her jaw, and Givenchy, standing behind Wayne’s chair, was similarly baffled.

Without wasting his breath, Wayne sent White Night Creed to Galen so that she could examine it herself.

Galen touched the bow. Though the divine power didn’t respond to her, the sacred aura washed over her. The brief contact was enough to restore her depleted thoughts to peak condition.

The divine artifact was the real deal. The demon had acquired White Night Creed!

Galen’s face crumpled. She thought about the writings on her body, the beating she had gotten, and the exposure of her legs. “Sir Knight, why didn’t you take White Night Creed out in the beginning?”

“I told you. I’m only the successor, while Darienne is the current knight. She has priority over me. What could I do when she lost White Night Creed in a card game?” Wayne huffed irritably. “I also told you that I just needed a little more time. Once Darienne flipped the table and took White Night Creed back, I’d be able to prove myself. You didn’t believe me. What else could I do?”

In short, Galen only had herself to blame. She was frustrated, but Wayne was even more so!

“I’ve met Lady Darienne. She’s not—”

“Yeah, yeah. She’s a beautiful woman of few words with no vices whatsoever. Is that right?”

Well... yeah.

Galen had been certain of the fact, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Wayne huffed. “You judge by appearances and jump to conclusions, mistaking Darienne for a good person and me for a demon. You deserve what happened today.”

Talking about Darienne left him irritated. Aside from her betting with White Night Creed day in and day out, there was also the matter of Galen and Kristen. Darienne had met both of them. There was a striking resemblance between their appearances and builds, and their hair color was identical. Yet Darienne had never once mentioned it.

The next time they played cards, he was going to make her lose even her underwear!

“Even if I’ve made a mistake, you are the chosen knight and should uphold the code of chivalry. You shouldn’t treat the Holy Maiden in such a... a...”

Galen clenched her jaw. There were many ways to correct a mistake. Wayne’s methods were so extreme that she felt no gratitude at all; she wanted to kill him even if she would die for it.

So Darienne had been pretending to be good, but Wayne didn’t even bother pretending. Since when had the Moonlight Knight become such a character?

“So you’re a Holy Maiden. So what? Others can’t look at your legs, but I, the chosen knight, certainly can! If you have any complaint, take it to the goddess. Tell her that I’ve taken off your robe and see if she sides with you.” Wayne raised an eyebrow, egging Galen on to make a complaint to the goddess.

“I’ll follow your order and speak honestly to the goddess!” Galen hissed.

A Holy Maiden’s purity was crucial. She would report to the goddess even if Wayne hadn’t prompted her to. Frankly speaking, not even the chosen knight should get a free pass for whatever they did. The Holy Maiden represented the goddess in the human world. Wayne was too arrogant.

“You too. You may report to your goddess that you’ve been stripped.”

Wayne turned to Corte, who was still laughing. The carefree woman had no worries in her heart despite her impressive bust, and she was as cheerful as her legs were long. What a typical character she was.

“Huh?!”

Corte didn’t understand Wayne.

“Tell the Goddess of Sun that Sun Knight Wayne has undressed you,” Wayne said haughtily. “Learn from your goddess that a Holy Maiden matters little in comparison to a chosen knight so that you’ll adjust your attitude and stop shrieking at me.”

Corte lost her temper immediately. Though a Holy Maiden might not outrank a chosen knight, Wayne was being too condescending. Moreover...

“You’re the Moonlight Knight, as proven by White Night Creed. Stop claiming to be the Sun Knight,” Corte warned. It was a matter of faith and principles. She might not be a match for the Moonlight Knight, but she would risk her life for her faith and honor, splattering blood all over him.

Wayne silently reached into the void and took Elemental Mantra out.

Ridiculous. Neither responded to me earlier.

Good news, Elemental Mantra wasn’t useless; bad news, Mr. Moula has become unreliable like Darienne.

He sighed wearily. Nature Knight Moula had been the gold standard of a knight to him, but he ended up succumbing to Darienne’s influence.

Wayne tossed Elemental Mantra at Corte. The white greatsword spun and landed before Corte and Galen, making a loud clang.

Their breaths hitched. Givenchy also gaped in confusion, her eyes wide.

“W-why...”

“Nature Knight and Moonlight Knight...”

Corte’s tongue got into a twist, preventing her from stringing together a sentence for a good moment. Finally, she said, “Haven’t you grabbed the wrong weapon? That’s Elemental Mantra. You said you were the Sun—no, wait, why could you take out two divine artifacts?”

That snapped Galen out of her daze. She suspected that White Night Creed was a fake, that she was still in the demon’s trap.

“My situation is unusual. I was the only chosen knight recognized by all three goddesses of the Life Alliance,” Wayne said evenly. “This is a secret. In the human world, only Knight Moula, Leo, and Darienne know. Sir Leo has gone to the inner world for an oracle, so I cannot summon Dawn Doctrine. That’s why I use Elemental Mantra to prove my identity.”

Gulp! x3

Galen looked at the two divine artifacts, picturing Wayne summoning three divine artifacts to face the alliance of the Darkness Knight and the Death Knight on his own, driving them back. This man possessed the charisma called power!

It would be inappropriate for the Moonlight Knight to check out a Holy Maiden’s legs, but not when the knight was also the Sun Knight and the Nature Knight.

Galen was reassuring herself when she realized how shameless the thought process was. She took a deep breath and said, “It’s too far-fetched for anyone to be three chosen knights in one. I’ve never heard of something like that. Corte and I are currently inside a vitality field, with our perceptions manipulated to prevent us from telling whether the divine artifacts are the real deal. We can’t trust you just yet.”

“But we’re not under manipulation. Our senses—”

“Shut up!”

Galen shot Corte a withering look. If she continued to take everything at face value, Wayne would be doing her nine times a night.

“I know you’re being clever, but... Fine, keep it up. I like your defiance.” Wayne gestured at Givenchy to disperse the vitality field, returning them to the head office of the Church of Moonlight. “Whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter, and nothing I say will change anything. Contact the goddesses. Only they can confirm my status.”

His composure convinced Galen. It was still absurd that someone had been chosen by three goddesses, but this man was living proof of his claim.

“While you’re at it, tell the goddesses how I’ve mistreated you truthfully and have them weigh in. Then you’ll understand the gap between Holy Maidens and chosen knights...”

Wayne narrowed his eyes, trying to test the two goddesses and find out where they stand. He said arrogantly, “The next time I take advantage of you, I don’t want you to glare at me and use your purity as a reason to stop me from doing what I want to do.”

“...” x2

“What are you waiting for? Make the call already!”