Myths Reawakened

The dark, intersecting tunnels led to different directions, lined by strewn tombstones, stone statues, and walls of skeletons that had become weathered and obscured by time. Every once in a while, a chilling wind would rush through the gaps between the remains, the eerie rustles resembling the whispers of spirits.

The underground catacombs were like a portal to the underworld, and the well-connected tunnels, the shortcuts.

It was a one-way street.

Two women walked in the dark. Givenchy, dressed in a white robe, was leading the way. Her life essence had been converted to one of an Astral being by Wayne. Though it didn’t make her stronger because of his restrictions, the Astral trait of existing outside of rules remained; her body had incredible regeneration power and could mend a serious injury in a short time.

Givenchy’s expression alternated between one of painful resistance and a fanatic urge to spread her faith. The grey-robed woman following her had exploited Givenchy’s worship to extract information. Her heart sank when she learned that Wayne had come for the demons.

It was one thing for him to be after demons. The problem was that the demon alliance had Death Knight Rognes’s head, and Wayne would find the Death Knight when he found the demons.

The two Death Knights shouldn’t meet, at least not now!

“Wayne’s too young. He won’t be Rognes’s match, and he’ll lose both Shadow Nightmare and Julia...”

She imagined their meeting and Wayne’s one-sided defeat, with Shadow Nightmare taken.

Rognes had put his life on the line to send Shadow Nightmare and Julia out of Palis, and she had spent a lot of time looking for the right successor. Their efforts must not be in vain. She had to find Wayne as soon as she could and send him out of Palis.

“Don’t struggle,” she said slowly. “I mean your master no harm. I’m Sukra, the Holy Maiden of the Church of Death.”

Heavy breathing echoed in the dark tunnel. Distorted lines of black and red flooded toward Givenchy and Sukra, corrupting the space they inhabited to drag them into a different world.

It was a world where everything was upside down. The sky was land, and the land was sky. The black veil of land was pure darkness with no sun, moon, or starlight. Random cracks clustered and spread, revealing glaring red wounds. Crimson lava streamed from the cracks like boiling blood to water the black clouds below, vaporizing the moisture and filling the air with the pungent smell of sulfur. Volcanoes erupted intermittently. The large chunks that broke off fell into the sea of clouds and brought up boiling water.

The twisted apocalyptic world resembled Hell in every aspect.

A massive figure climbed out of the mouth of the volcano. They had a boulder-like body covered in veins of lava. Standing on the upside-down land, they looked toward the sky at Sukra and Givenchy.

Givenchy’s expression darkened. The heat of Hell was a struggle to adapt to. Every little breath brought poisonous heat into her lungs, making it feel like she would be ignited from the inside out.

Without thinking, she conjured her vitality field.

“Do you have a death wish? Creating your vitality field in a demigod’s vitality domain...”

Sukra warned Givenchy quietly, lifting her charm on her before looking up at the lava demon in the sky. Her grey hood slid off, revealing her masterpiece of a face with delicate, gentle features. There was a serene beauty to her. The grey of her silky, radiant long hair wasn’t the grey of aging, but a quiet, elegant color with the purity and mystique of a starry sky. A grey band covered her eyes. She couldn’t see anything... other than Death!

“It’s Andrius the Troll, one of the seventy-two demon lords in Hell,” Sukra said calmly. “Though it’s only a partial descent, he can conjure his demigod domain in the human world. It seems that Rognes won’t last much longer.”

Roooar—

The troll raised both arms, and the distorted, red and black world slowly drew close like two massive hands pressing together. The sky was rising, and the land was dipping. Together, they would wipe out everything in between.

Givenchy was visibly terrified. The power to destroy the world was real, completely different from the illusion conjured by vitality fields. She had no way to resist, and neither did Sukra. How could the Holy Maiden of the Church of Death ever be the match of a demigod from Hell?

Sukra raised her hand calmly to lift the grey bandage from her left eye. The grey eye, condensed with Death energy, locked onto Andrius’s stone head.

The troll’s titanic body stiffened instantly like he had been put on pause, and Death energy enveloped the space that his head existed in. The incredible energy corrupted the information in the area, making everything wilt until death with no discrimination.

Andrius’s head and the space around him were no exception.

The headless troll remained unmoving. Arms stretched, he hung upside down motionlessly, parts of his thoughts erased. His remaining thoughts tried to regenerate his head, but failed.

“Though it’s a low-ranking demon lord who’s descended partially, he’s still a demigod at the end of the day. I cannot kill him...”

Sukra wasn’t able to kill the demon lord with one attack. Once she lifted the bandage from her right eye, grey light bloomed and projected the strange being nestled in her eye to the real world.

Behind the troll’s headless body, the doorway to the Underworld opened, consisting of decayed remains and rusty black metal. Thick Death energy flooded out and turned into a misty skull. From within the hazy fog, an immeasurably large skeletal hand reached out to grab the troll, dragging him in.

Rumble!!

The doorway vanished, and gone was the troll’s vitality domain.

Sometimes, eliminating a demon was as easy as opening the door, kicking the demon out, and shutting the door. It took only three steps.

Givenchy found herself back in the tunnel. She was undoubtedly experienced, and she could tell that it wasn’t divine art, not at all.

“Lead the way. I want to meet your master.”

“Impossible!” Givenchy gritted her teeth. “You’re too dangerous. I’d rather die than lead you to my master.”

“How troublesome...” Sukra’s face was pale. Turning to look at Givenchy’s defensive stance, she unleashed her thoughts to take Givenchy under her control once more.

“Givenchy, your master is so powerful that I yearn to listen to his teachings in person. Please, give me a chance.”

Her compliments stripped Givenchy of her wariness, as shown by her blooming smile. The vassal required a soft touch. She responded better to persuasion over coercion.

***

Opera house.

Isabella gathered her team. They had combed through the underground maze and caught the phantom—it was a mutant from the Black Axiom Sect, like the hunchback monster they had caught at the bell tower. Both were followers of the sect that had mutated because of an unknown corruption.

This time and the last time, the mutants had suddenly seen a dramatic power-up. Even Isabella, a Gold-ranked mage, struggled to defeat the mutants. If the Black Axiom Sect was left unchecked, the Führer could forget about having a military parade in Palis. Franc’s mutants would be able to march all the way into Berlo, the capital of Prussia.

Wayne nodded once Isabella finished her briefing, patting her on the shoulder. “Then let’s eat!”

She broke into a bright smile.

Unlike others who slaved away for him, Isabella was entirely after his wealth and influence, and she didn’t intend to let go of her meal plan—not even if clinging to him would kill her.

Hestia stayed, too. She didn’t pay much attention after glancing at Isabella.

The woman was pure and hadn’t corrupted her Śār. Since Isabella hadn’t committed an unforgivable crime, Hestia wasn’t going to curse her out and attack her.

Speaking of which, Hestia glared at the wench sticking close to Wayne. The secretary must go to Hell. There was no redeeming her!!

Although their earlier fight had left Hestia so thoroughly beaten that she couldn’t even find the doorway to Heaven, she insisted on treating Wayne’s secretary as her mortal enemy.

Not being able to beat someone didn’t mean accepting defeat, nor did it mean agreeing with them.

It was a matter of principles. She would rather die than make a compromise. Even if she died and was nailed inside a coffin, she would still use her rotten vocal cords to yell, ‘bitch’.

Also, she had figured out the reason for her defeat.

It wasn’t because the wench was powerful, but because the wench was a bad match for her. Both of them were using the power granted by Hesione, but the wench had clung to Wayne so much that she gained much more divine power, with a higher priority than her. If Hestia clung to Wayne, too...

That would be sacrilegious. Still, she had to say that if she did the same thing, she would definitely have gained greater priority.

Moreover, she had to say that her old superior favored the new over the old a little too much. Why would he sleep with a human clergywoman, but not his loyal subordinate?

“Come on, let’s see which restaurant is still open.”

Wayne snapped his fingers. Isabella immediately dismissed her team, trailing after him loyally. If she had a tail, it would be spinning like a helicopter’s rotor blades.

After taking two steps, Wayne noticed someone else following him. He asked, “Why are you following me, Hestia? I’m supposed to be investigating in secret. You should return to your open post to cover me.”

The Papal State sent only four reincarnated angels to Palis. With limited manpower, Hestia was an indispensable combatant. Without her, the reincarnated angels wouldn’t be able to create a big enough ruckus. Without a big enough ruckus, they wouldn’t attract the demons. Then how was Wayne going to follow the reincarnated angels and steal their kills? He couldn’t possibly charge at the very front, could he?

“I can’t do anything even if I head back. Auriel does not like me.” Hestia chose to stay with Wayne.

According to her, Auriel was close to Mikhael, the Viceroy of Heaven, who had a tense relationship with Hesione. Even if Hestia rejoined the angels, she would only be an eyesore as Hesione’s subordinate.

She found Auriel disagreeable, and Auriel had no goodwill for her.

Moreover, Auriel was one of the four Śārs and a Seraph, so Hestia had to treat him with respect, keeping her feelings in check even if he made her life difficult. She would rather not go back and endure the treatment, with nothing entrusted to her.

Besides, she should continue to monitor the shameless wench to prevent Wayne’s purity from further corruption. Thinking of that, she shot the wench a cold glare.

What are you looking at me for? Hesione hissed. Do you see me as filth?

Hesione wanted to strangle Hestia to death. She had liked her subordinate for her loyalty and tactful speech, but she realized now that the Throne had quite the sharp tongue. Her mouth might as well be a waste discharge.

Though Hesione had a ruthless side, she was still one of the good guys; she wasn’t going to just kill Hestia because of her offensive remarks. Moreover, it wasn’t Hestia’s fault. It was because Hesione refused to admit who she was that Wayne had been using her identity, thus leading to a series of misunderstandings.

Technically, Hestia hadn’t changed at all. She remained loyal to the leader she so admired, which led her to hate the sinner who had tainted her leader’s purity.

Hesione had beaten up Hestia and insulted the purity she held dear to her heart. It was enough for Hesione’s mood to improve. She now understood the fun of disciplining a delinquent student.

Though she was at a great loss, Hestia had suffered a serious blood loss. Hesione would consider it a win.