Myths Reawakened

Night.

The cars, the fog, and the streetlights combined to paint a moody backdrop. Mona carried suitcase after suitcase into the portal, diligently and without complaint, like a little bee transporting nectar. She wore a black mini-skirt that didn’t reach her knees, with black stockings cladding her long, shapely legs. Her blouse was unremarkable, with the top two buttons undone. For safe driving, she took off her high heels when behind the wheel.

Why not just switch to flat shoes, you ask? Well, it was by her master’s requirement that she kept the high heels. He also dictated what she should wear, stating that her skirt had to be above the knees, and her lipstick had to be a bold red to go with her heavy makeup.

She followed his orders and pushed new boundaries with her looks every day. She never asked why; whatever her master demanded, she did.

It was the sensible thing to do. After all, she was supposed to be enslaved and corrupted by a demon follower. It would be suspicious for her to dress too conservatively.

Wayne sat on the sofa, lifting his cup of black tea and blowing the steam as he watched her bustle about. He was extremely satisfied with her performance over the past few days. She did whatever she was told to do without any questions or complaints, having become a professional messenger.

In the center of the courtyard, the alchemy circle emanated black mist. From above, one could see a massive maw-like abyss gaping in the darkness—with red lips and two rows of gleaming white teeth that embodied evil perfectly.

Mona stood before the circle, putting on white gloves before unzipping the suitcases, dumping out the corpses curled up inside. The mouth opened and swallowed the offerings, even licking its lips with its tongue.

Mona showed no discomfort toward the act itself. She had personally constructed the alchemy circle and knew what to expect. However...

“Mom!”

The large mouth spoke in a childlike and feminine voice. That was what truly disturbed her, and she finally understood why Bruce never fed the alchemy circle himself.

It was repulsive! Even the most devoted clergy members would start hallucinating after hearing the voice a few times.

A portal opened, and out came the Thousand-Eyed Demon. He glanced at the alchemy circle, pleased with his subordinate’s efficiency. At this rate, sixty-six corpses would be fed into the mouth soon. With power came responsibility, as they said. Capable workers should be worked to death, so he decided to give Wayne more work.

“Master.”

Wayne put a hand on his chest and bowed. Mona hurried over with small steps, standing behind her master and mimicking his gesture.

For a clergywoman who would die before bowing to a demon to grovel before one, the Thousand-Eyed Demon would be the first to disagree if anyone claimed that she hadn’t been broken. While the demon paid little attention to her, he did take note of her attire and makeup.

Especially the stockings!

The demon was impressed. Hell used to set the trend for perversion, but now the tables had turned; hell was the countryside, needing to learn from the perverse ways of the human metropolis.

That was good news. The more depraved and corrupt humanity became, the better demons could conduct business.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon planned to steal the idea of stockings and introduce it to hell, claiming it as his own invention to negotiate territories with the succubi.

“Bruce, how many corpses have been processed?”

“Fifteen so far. Twenty-two candidates remain on the list. I’ve been investigating during the day. Since I’ve run out of friends, I’m working on expanding my social circle.”

He spoke with regret. One never realized how few friends they had until they needed them. He took responsibility for failing to quickly complete his master’s command.

No, you’re doing quite well. The Thousand-Eyed Demon didn’t voice his satisfaction, but instead spoke harshly, “Spend less energy on this woman, and you’ll work faster.”

“It’s as you said, Master. I’ll give up on women in a few days.”

That won’t be necessary. When I conquer the Lord of Lust in the future, I’ll need you to lead the charge.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon waved at him and magnanimously forgave his failing. “No more investigating during the day. Just kill your remaining twenty-two friends, and I’ll give you another list.”

“Ah, that...” Wayne was dumbfounded. Actually, he suspected that the Church of Heavenly Father had already completed the task he had outsourced to them ahead of schedule. Despite Mona transporting fresh suitcases gradually, these might all be frozen goods.

Sixty-six minus twenty-two and fifteen would be twenty-nine. To abandon those frozen goods, wouldn’t those poor souls have died for nothing?

“What’s wrong? Do you have a more efficient solution?”

“That’s not the case. I’m just deeply ashamed that I couldn’t share your burden as your servant.” Wayne lowered his head and criticized himself even more harshly.

“Geoff will deliver the list shortly. Those people are my followers in Londan. They all worship hell and meet the requirements.”

Lesson learned. So that’s how demons harvest their followers.

Wayne looked at the Thousand-Eyed Demon with confusion. “Master, has an emergency occurred for you to suddenly speed up the plan?”

The demon’s expression darkened. “No, the plan is advancing smoothly. No one knows that I’m in Londan. However, one of my prized disciples met his demise. As a precaution, I decided to bring the plan a few days ahead.”

He glanced at Wayne. “I’ll give you two days to gather sixty-six corpses. It doesn’t matter if you draw some attention. Without my permission, no outsiders can break into this place.”

Wayne nodded. Two days was a little short, but manageable. Mona could handle it by working overtime.

“After two days, I’ll have another task for you.”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon produced a map from his sleeve. Wayne respectfully took it. “Master, I won’t disappoint you with this mission.”

“Follow the map and create inverted pentagrams with the specified blood according to the markings. Don’t use the wrong blood.”

With that, the demon left through the portal. Wayne tucked the map into his pocket. Mona remained silent, neither showing curiosity nor asking questions. Pleased with her reaction, he said, “Toss all the suitcases in and head home early today. I plan to stay the night at your place.”

Understood. We’re talking more at home.

Mona obediently carried out the order, approaching the alchemy circle and feeding it the rest of the suitcases one by one. Five minutes later, Geoff arrived through a portal. His dark expression clearly showed how displeased he was by the favor the Thousand-Eyed Demon was showing to the newcomer. Since he couldn’t reveal his resentment to the demon, he could only take it out on the new guy.

Wayne ignored him. Taking the kill list, he gestured at Geoff to get lost and stop being an eyesore in his territory.

You forgot your place! Geoff scoffed before departing. He shouldn’t have recruited Wayne and gotten himself a competitor.

After Geoff’s departure, the hellish mouth finished chewing and eating. It seemed to have grown considerably, calling out to its mother with more vigor.

Wayne frowned at it. According to the alchemy book, the complete formula required six hundred and sixty-six corpses, while the Thousand-Eyed Demon only demanded sixty-six, which was a clear inconsistency. There had to be other ritual sites!

However, the fact that the Church of Heavenly Father had so easily produced a list of sixty-six hell followers showed that they had a good grasp of the worship of hell in Londan. There might be oversight, but they certainly knew the majority of the followers. If the Thousand-Eyed Demon had other ritual sites and the hell followers in Londan had been going missing in large numbers, the church would certainly notice immediately.

“No, that may not be the case. The demon’s too cautious to expose himself in such a way.”

The pondering led to no conclusions. Wayne left base number three with Mona.

***

At Mona’s place, Wayne sat on the sofa and unfolded the map to study it. She sat beside him. To ensure she had memorized everything properly, he deliberately took extra time studying the map.

Ever since her last test confirmed that they were on the same side, she rarely sat on his lap, at least not when they were alone. Their time at base number three was an exception; in case the Thousand-Eyed Demon was monitoring them, they had to act intimate occasionally.

Ten minutes later, Wayne stretched and stood up from the sofa, pacing back and forth in the living room. Mona had already memorized every marking on the map. She asked, “Master, each marked location requires different blood, some, sheep blood, and others, crow blood. Shall I prepare everything for you?”

“What else? Do you expect me to do it myself?” He tossed the list onto Mona’s lap. “Memorize all of this. You have two days to get it done. You saw how urgent it is.”

Mona took the list. Out of respect for Wayne’s professionalism as an undercover agent, they always talked vaguely when exchanging information.

“You’ve been close to me this past week, dressing yourself quite provocatively. Has the Church of Heavenly Father noticed your changes?”

“No, I’m on a special assignment. Unless absolutely necessary, I don’t need to return to the cathedral.”

Special assignment? To investigate me, eh? Not bad. Although your investigation hasn’t given you anything, you’ve certainly gotten up close and personal with me.

Wayne raised an eyebrow, suppressing his urge to press for more answers. It could wait. There would be plenty of time for that later.

“I acknowledge your loyalty,” he said. “Here’s a task for you. Return to the cathedral tonight and find a high-ranking official with real authority. Bring me answers. I have a use for it.”

Mona’s expression turned serious. “Please go ahead.”

“First, my master is hunting down certain individuals. Has the church noticed? If so, do they know his goal?”

“Second, the base requires portals for entering and exiting. Does the church have other methods of opening doorways? If not, how many portals have they found?”

“Finally, my master is going to accelerate his plan. If the church knows, do they have the ability to stop it?”

Wayne extended his fingers one by one. “That’s all. I’ll wait here for you. Go quickly and return as soon as possible. Get it done before tomorrow.”

Mona nodded and rose to leave.

“Wait!” Wayne called out to her, speaking irritably, “Get changed. What kind of impure clergywoman are you? You’ll be announcing to the church that you’re suspicious.”

That’s Going Undercover for Dummies!

Mona acknowledged her mistake and went upstairs to get changed in her bedroom, also removing her heavy makeup and reapplying only light cosmetics before departing.

“It’s so late. Who are you putting on makeup for?” Wayne grumbled, closing his eyes to wait for the church’s response.

Two hours later, Mona hurried back. “Master, it went smoothly. I seduced a high-ranking official into giving me quite a bit of information.”

Oh? How did you do it? Give me the details. I don’t know enough about the world.

Wayne huffed coldly. “Your master prefers to keep things to himself and doesn’t like sharing. Remember this. There will be no next time.”

Mona sighed. Alright, alright. I won’t make up stories like this next time. But there’s no one else here. Is it necessary to keep emphasizing your persona?

“I won’t do it again, Master,” she admitted her mistake with a petulant expression. She had crossed her boundaries so many times that this level of embarrassing lines no longer fazed her.

“What did the official say?” Wayne asked.

“The church doesn’t know who Master’s master is looking for or what his goal is. They’re exploring several possibilities, the two most likely answers being a special transformation circle or a new body that’ll accommodate greater thoughts.”

Wayne nodded. Both are possible, but he was leaning toward the latter. If his memory served him right, the Thousand-Eyed Demon was currently using the body of the entomologist named Quinton, originally an ordinary person rather than a mage.

So, did Kristen get followed because the demon coveted her body?

“The church has only found one portal and marked it. To find more, they need to place certain artifacts.” Mona glanced at Wayne. “According to the church, castles are often conquered from within. They need someone on the inside.”

“Unrealistic. Why would anyone do it?” Wayne snorted. “I, for example, am wholly devoted to Master and will never betray him under any circumstances.”

“Lastly, the church has the ability to stop everything!” Mona concluded. Then, she realized that she had missed something and added, “I proposed the hypotheses first before the official shared his analysis. Master’s master hasn’t been exposed. No one knows he’s in Londan.”

Shoot, do so many people know already? Can they be trusted? What if there’s a spy on the church’s side? Wayne’s heart raced with alarm. It felt like the church didn’t take him seriously. After their bold series of actions, it would be difficult for the Thousand-Eyed Demon not to notice him.

“I get it. Get those sixty-six corpses ready as soon as possible and deliver them all to base number three by tomorrow night. After it’s done...” Wayne looked seriously at her. “I’m tired of this. Don’t appear before me anymore. If I’m ever in the mood, I’ll find you.”

Mona’s heart skipped a beat. “Master, are you planning to...”

“It’s none of your concern. If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow night will be the last time we meet. Be careful when preparing the suitcases. Don’t accidentally stuff them with those artifacts the church official mentioned.” With that, he took his leave without turning back.

Mona opened her mouth, feeling reluctant to see him go. If tomorrow night was their last meeting, she hoped he would show her his true face. She wasn’t greedy. Just one look would suffice.

***

The next night, Mona completed the task of collecting sixty-six corpses, busily transporting them and feeding the alchemy circle until dawn. The red mouth of hell ate its fill, letting out a disturbing laugh of satisfaction.

Wayne didn’t speak to Mona. He opened a portal and had her leave instantly, clutching two black crystals he had taken from the suitcases. He pondered how he should take them to base number one and two.

The second base was easier since he could just enter through the portal and pick a fight with some excuse. Going for a brawl would be reasonable enough since Geoff never hid his dislike for him. As for the first base, Bo was there, so it wouldn’t be difficult to enter it. However, if the Thousand-Eyed Demon noticed what he was doing, the Death Knight disguise would be compromised.

He couldn’t think of a reliable solution, so he decided not to worry about it. He had already provided the Church of Heavenly Father with extensive information and didn’t need to continue taking risks. It was time for the church to risk their lives. He made up his mind to start slacking off after completing the final task tomorrow, waiting for the show to begin as a spectator.

Opening a portal, Wayne entered base number two and immediately spotted a man in a black robe. He called out to him.

“What?”

“Yesterday, your boss huffed at me in my territory and left with his right foot first. This is my response to him.”

Wayne punched the robed underling in the face, letting the two black crystals fall into a crevice in the rocky ground of the ruins. “Tell him to be more polite in my territory next time, or I won’t stop at a simple slap.”

After that, he reopened the portal and left.

“Then go slap him! Why did you hit me? Do you take me as a pushover?!”

The robed man covered his face, growing angrier the more he thought about it. This wasn’t over. He had to get Boss to settle the score.