Myths Reawakened

Death’s grey mist roamed the sky like a massive hand slowly reaching down, obscuring the sun and injecting the undead on the battlefield with infinite power. When both sides were buffed, neither was.

The battle broke out. In the back of the battlefield, Sukra struggled to get a clear look at the other side. Tens of thousands of skeletons were fighting on a vast landmass. She saw giant beasts rampaging about while banshees unleashed faith magic from up in the air. Skeletal eagles dove and hit the ground like dumplings falling into a pot of water.

A great number of skeleton soldiers, as the primary cannon fodder, lined up in dense formations, charging into the fray with cold bone blades in their hands. They had no fear and no pain, and they did not cower.

In the heart of the battlefield, two massive dragon-like skeletal beasts collided, grappling from the sky all the way to the ground and then soaring again, generating gales that stirred the ocean of mist.

Their power was so devastating that every beat of their wings and swing of their tails sent large swathes of skeleton soldiers to the sky.

“Go, go,” Sukra urged. “They’re getting real.”

“Don’t worry. I’m the best at conflict resolution. I’m a pro.”

Wayne adjusted his horned helmet and charged, dragging his chipped sword on the ground. He vanished from Sukra’s vision in an instant.

Boom!

A sudden gale thrust forth, followed by an explosive air current. The white mist pushed back in different directions, resulting in a thunderous rumble above the battlefield.

Omeros stood in the sky and commanded the entire army. Hearing the thunderous noise, she whirled around, thinking that they were under an ambush.

A vortex of Death energy plunged toward the center of the battlefield like a drill with swirling, distorted grey tentacles, knocking all obstacles in its way. The skeleton soldiers crumbled at a touch, and the skeletal beasts exploded into broken pieces. The sound of glass breaking resounded as relentless pressure shattered the barriers in the center of the battlefield.

After a short moment, the grey drill reached deep into the battlefield, speeding up and hurtling toward the skeletal dragons.

Sensing something approaching, the two skeletal dragons stopped grappling and turned to the attacker at the same time.

Roooar—x2

A great dragon flapped its wings and growled. The Death energy that the two dragons breathed out surged across the land in a thick grey flood, slamming into the grey drill along with the sonic waves.

At contact, the dragon breaths disintegrated, while the drill tore through the flood and emerged intact, its momentum unaffected.

Whose soldier is this valiant one?!

Omeros looked over at the charging drill in shock. It seemed that the drill was targeting the enemy camp, so whoever it was had to be one of their own. However, they showed no mercy to their side and could be considered a spy planted by the enemy.

“Who is it?”

The grey drill jumped. Once the violent tides of Death energy receded, a simple skeleton soldier appeared. It was sickly and malnourished, armed with tattered armor, a blade, and a horned helmet.

Huh, isn’t that the stupid skeleton? Omeros’s eyes widened. Was it a trick of the light?

The banshees in the area also stopped casting spells to stare at the powerful reinforcement, shocked.

Roooar—

The two skeletal dragons howled and soared into the sky, flapping their wings with their heads raised, the cold blue fire in their eye sockets surging. Following a flash of white, the two dragons were suspended in the air. The skeleton soldier stomped on the ground with both feet, leaving a deep crater. Then, with the propelling force, he leaped and charged right into the enemy’s frontline.

Behind him, the two dragons’ heads fell with a thud. Their now headless bodies fell apart like a pile of stacking blocks. At the center of the skulls, the dancing blue fires remained strong. No matter how they roared, however, they could not elicit a response from the bodies.

The skeleton soldier charged with his greatsword held downward, ignoring whatever was in his way. Though his move was simple and primitive, his destructive power was great. The incredible impact smashed everything in his way.

It took no time for him to charge across the entire battlefield, parting the dense army on his own.

Hiss—xN

Amid the echoing hisses, the banshees exchanged glances, helpless. Comparing their proud summons with the skeleton soldiers who had decapitated two dragons like vegetables, they came to wonder the same thing: was this the right way to cultivate skeleton soldiers, and had they all been wrong?

Omeros was the most speechless. She watched the horned skeleton fight his way through the enemy’s camp, unstoppable, and then looked at Sukra, who was riding on a flying dragon. Her icy cheeks warmed a little.

You should’ve told me that you’re good. That’ll save me the humiliation. Even a dead body would blush in my place.

But Sukra had said that while her skeleton soldier didn’t look bright, he was incredibly strong. Omeros fell silent. She couldn’t be blamed for making assumptions. Sukra was less than convincing with that malnourished appearance. No one would’ve believed her.

Whoosh!

Following a white flash, the grey sword aura parted the transparent barrier concealing the edge of the battlefield into two. Behind the barrier stood eight people. The men and women were all wearing grey mage robes. Their leader had a slim waist, round hips, and smooth curves, all obvious traits for a woman.

When the last of the barriers collapsed, the counterforce hit the eight men and women. They staggered, their thoughts stilling and their heads aching.

Only the woman at the front remained unaffected. She planted her feet in the face of a formidable enemy and used her divine art unhesitatingly.

Her shadow rose into a standing position, growing until it filled the expanse between heaven and earth. The shadowy figure was a blurry form with mist-like edges that faded in and out of existence.

Her face was shrouded in a thin layer of mist that covered her features. Her eyes alone remained intimidatingly bright and insightful, observing the life and death of everything in the cycle of reincarnation.

The Goddess of Death!

The divine art summoned the goddess’s projection. The air froze all of a sudden, and a cold, profound Death spread. The temperature dropped as the energy of Death seemed to slow time. Everything, including thoughts, became incredibly heavy and slow.

The projection’s eyes cast downward. Wherever her gaze landed, it felt as if an insurmountable peak was crashing down, halting one’s thoughts and making simple thinking nigh impossible.

Omeros and the banshees she commanded landed. Not daring to meet the goddess’s gaze, they knelt and bowed. The undead creatures that could still move also stopped fighting and lowered their weapons, bowing to the master of the Underworld who had granted them life.

Sukra landed with her flying dragon. She saw the projection as soon as she reached the center of the battlefield, prompting her to immediately jump down and bow.

Behind the woman who had just summoned Death, seven figures dropped to their knees and bowed. On the battlefield, anyone who was still mobile, save for the woman, knelt and—

No, the skeleton soldier was still charging!

He leaped with a step and, under everyone’s terrified gaze, swung a grey arc at the projection.

Using Death’s energy to fight the Goddess of Death? Swinging your weapon at the goddess who has granted you life? What is this? A suicide attempt?

Swoosh!

The sword aura bisected the projection. The cold eyes dimmed and vanished, and the projection retreated under everyone’s surprised stares.

The Goddess of Death had disappeared just as suddenly as She had appeared, catching everyone off guard. The banshees couldn’t figure out what just happened with their empty heads, nor could the eight on the enemy’s side. They wondered if they were seeing things.

After a moment of shock, they concluded that they must be dreaming.

The most surprised among them was Sukra. With her mouth open in an O, she pointed at Wayne with trembling fingers. She had spent the earlier part of her life running away from the Church of Death’s pursuit, with death as her closest company. She believed she had seen everything under the sun. The Death Knight swinging Shadow Nightmare at the Goddess of Death...

Well, she had never seen that.

Her time with Wayne had primed her for the shock, though. While she was the most shocked, she was also the first to recover.

She tossed the staff to the ground and glared at Wayne’s plummeting form, roaring telepathically, “Bastard, I told you to stop the fight. That’s how you do it?”

“Yeah,” Wayne said proudly, adjusting his helmet. “After this, they definitely aren’t going to keep fighting. Am I not a pro in conflict resolution?”

Yeah, they’ll just take you down together, and they will not stop until either you or them are dead.

Sukra covered her mouth. She wanted to cry, but this body wasn’t capable of shedding tears. She wanted nothing but to ensure mutual destruction with Wayne.

With the frustration building in her chest, she had to say something, or she would explode. She snarled, “Stop playing with your helmet. You piss me off!”

Wayne landed thunderously. The wind generated from his fall rustled the leading woman’s grey robe and exposed her curves. The grey hood that covered up her face lifted, exposing her silver hair and a beautiful, blank face.

She was Ryza, the former Holy Maiden of Death.

Wayne looked over. The master and disciple shared the same hair color. He was once again reminded of an old friend. Also, befitting a former Holy Maiden, she looked young and stunning enough to pass for Sukra’s sister.

Praise be to magic!

Wayne took a step forward and startled Ryza’s still thoughts. When two strong individuals clashed, they should first compare sizes.

Wayne won. He was a head taller than her. From his moving jawbones, he spoke in the voice of a throat cancer patient, “We’re on the same side. I know Rognes. Take me to him.”

“Nonsense, you desecrator. You’ve betrayed your faith!” Ryza glared at the skeleton soldier. The damn helmet was infuriating.

With a wave, she conjured a grey longsword that resembled Shadow Nightmare, only it was slimmer. She had become a demigod after entering the Divine Realm. Even if she used only her vitality domain and not her divine art, she was still formidable.

Slap!

Wayne caught Ryza’s palm-sized face in his grip, curling his fingers to suppress her domain and prevent her from manifesting it as reality.

“Since you’re the one questioning me, you’ll only have yourself to blame if you get hurt.”

Crumble... Crash...

A few seconds later, Ryza and her seven companions collapsed to the ground, and the undead army they had summoned either disappeared or joined the banshees. Wayne cocked his head at a prostrate Ryza, complimenting the scenery. Earlier, the wind had revealed her frontal curves but not her rear, so he hadn’t realized how shapely her backside was.

A killing intent locked onto him. Wayne turned around and found Omeros leading a large group of banshees over, commanding countless undead creatures. Sukra, who was gnashing her teeth together, was among them.

“Be good and stop playing,” Wayne said helpfully, resigned. “Even if you join them, you won’t be my match. Come to me, and I’ll let you taste the fruit of victory.”

“Only in your dream!” Sukra bit out harshly. “I’m going all in today. Whether I win or lose, I’ll get my blood all over you!”

“You’d better think it through.” Wayne adjusted his horned helmet. “If you lose, you’ll get a spanking.”

“I’m still going to bleed on you!”

Swinging her staff, Sukra was the first to charge, aiming at Wayne’s... helmet.

The two upcurved cow horns seemed more infuriating the longer she looked!