Myths Reawakened

Dawn Detective Agency, Commercial Street.

A burly figure approached the entrance to the detective agency. Facing the dark storefront, he crushed the lock with his bare hands and strode in. A demon’s efficiency was evident in how he had found his way to the future scene of the crime at night when he was in hell only this morning. Were he a hero, he would still be trapped in a meeting!

“Closing shop at midnight before the day even breaks? The faith of Death is lazy.”

Marius hadn’t found the base of the Church of Death since, unlike the Life Alliance, Death and Darkness hadn’t established themselves in Londan. Even on the rare occasions where they rose in power, the Life Alliance would swiftly knock them back down.

Outside of the Darkness Knight and the Death Knight, the Dawn Detective Agency was the only Death faction that had gained a foothold in the city of Londan, thanks to its belief in fairness and justice.

Soon, the detection magic in place triggered an alarm. Two mages of the Church of Death came to check on the agency. With a boom, the two robed figures flew backward and slammed into the ground, their bodies twisted into braids like they were boneless, with blood gushing out profusely. Their imminent death was evident.

“Who are you?”

Bo arrived with a fierce expression when he got wind of the intrusion. The tragic death of his two subordinates enraged him, but he tamped down his anger and asked for the troublemaker’s identity with a cool head.

“And who are you?” Marius eyed the wraith before him. “I’m not interested in minions. Tell the Death Knight that a demon is looking for him.”

Demon again? Bo couldn’t believe it. First, there was the Thousand-Eyed Demon. Now, another demon came out of nowhere, also asking to see his master. Just how many more demons were hiding in Londan?

With his previous experience, Bo knew for certain that this demon would die. Although his master didn’t seem like the righteous type, he was a hundred percent on the good side, as proven by the fate of the Thousand-Eyed Demon.

“I’m the Death Knight’s servant,” Bo said calmly. “Head to the Great Cemetery in the Western District. I’ll contact Master, and when he wants to, he will meet you there.”

“What an arrogant servant.” Marius broke out laughing, his tone dripping with derision. “I want to see him now. Tell him to come!”

“Who exactly are you?” Bo narrowed his eyes, reading the intruder’s hostility. Unlike the Thousand-Eyed Demon, this one was clearly here for trouble.

“Tell your master that I’m Marius, coming from hell for him alone.”

“Just wait...” Bo turned away, lowering the brim of his hat. “In three days, I’ll relay your request to Master. You’ll get to meet Master in ten days if you’re lucky.”

Marius scoffed. Quick like a bolt of lightning, he reached Bo from behind and swung his sandbag-sized fist down, pinning Bo to the ground.

There was a splash. Marius looked at the wet stain at his feet, arching an eyebrow. “Interesting magical creature. The Death Knight’s power hasn’t weakened, it seems. However...”

It’s nothing special!

Given how weak the magical creature was, not even ten thousand of them would be Marius’s match. He extended his thoughts to lock onto Bo, chasing after him at lightning speed.

In the sewers, Bo melted into the flowing water and made it to the Great Cemetery in the Western District as quickly as possible, all the while contacting his master about the demon barging into the Dawn Detective Agency.

The demon’s name was Marius, and he had come from hell for the Death Knight.

***

“Who again?”

“How are there so many demons...”

“And why did demons never go after angels but the Death Knight instead?”

Wayne mumbled under his breath as he peeled the fair arm around his neck off him, reaching out to fish his clothes from under the bed.

By his side, Filomina blinked awake. When she saw him stealthily extract himself, she huffed and turned away. “What, do you hate staying the night so much?”

“I remember something important that I must do. I’ll stay the night next time, for sure.”

Wayne grabbed her shoulder and leaned down to kiss her deeply. When he was done kissing her, he had also put on his clothes. He was efficient like that!

Seeing the bastard leaving through the window after humoring her with a kiss, Filomina grabbed a pillow and hurled it, both angry and frustrated. Unfortunately, the pillow didn’t hit her target. “Just die out there and don’t come back. There is no shortage of men in this world. I can find another boyfriend.”

“...”

“I mean it!”

“...”

No response came from outside the window, which angered her further. She punched the pillow furiously.

Meanwhile, Wayne had found his way to the sewage system as quickly as he could, making a few turns into the flood control channel. He summoned Shadow Nightmare to transform into the Death Knight and headed straight to the Great Cemetery, riding on Julia’s back.

He also contacted Do and told her to make it to the cemetery, but she was to lie low rather than make a reckless move; Bo wouldn’t have died so easily.

Right after that, Mona received the same order: lie low at a distance from the cemetery and wait for further orders.

***

Western District Great Cemetery.

Thick mist permeated the air and smothered any life in the area. The dark cemetery was illuminated only by the eerie phosphorescent light hovering around. The silence was oppressive.

Bo emerged from the sewers and concluded from the incredible density of the mist that Do, his teammate, was nearby.

Boom!

A figure fell from the sky and slammed into the ground like a missile, creating a massive crater. Amid scattered soil and grass, the thick mist rippled out like tidal waves. Marius grinned viciously at Bo, his villainous face twisted.

“Why did you stop running? Or is this the burial site of your choice?”

“Outside of my master, no one can kill me.”

Bo had drawn Marius to the Great Cemetery to prevent civilian casualties, and now that he was certain of Do’s proximity, he began his second mission.

Drawing his gun from his waistband, he pulled the trigger in quick succession, his super vision allowing him to catch Marius’s movement. Every shot he made hit the mark accurately, no bullet wasted.

Marius looked at Bo with interest. “You’re no regular magical creature. The Death Knight has modified you. You’ll make a good pastime.”

“Demon, why do you seek my master?” Bo frowned. All of his mana-imbued bullets had hit, but none had drawn blood; the demon’s resilient muscles and skin had deflected all of them.

“Once your master shows up, he’ll know.” Marius cackled and was suddenly behind Bo, one hand grabbing Bo’s head and the other hand clutching his gun-wielding arm, tearing it off audibly.

Bo, having lost an arm, scattered into splashes of water. Perhaps to disgust Marius, he had used sewage water, keeping the original odor at a hundred percent potency. The authentic wastewater enraged Marius. He tore his black robe off and wiped his face roughly.

“So this is a demon from hell. You smell quite bad. I’m thankful that I’m already dead, or the smell would’ve killed me.” Bo emerged from the thick mist, covering his nose and mouth with his fedora.

He had been a righteous police officer, and now... well, a pet resembled its master, and just like Do, Bo had gotten better at vicious mockery.

Marius was suddenly upon Bo like a streak of lightning and threw a punch enveloped in blazing heat. The hit vaporized Bo’s body and shattered the ground below with the rest of its momentum, pushing aside the mist in the area.

“Vermin from sewers, can you do nothing but flee?” Marius stared at the thick mist with crimson eyes.

Bo had concealed himself within the mist, taunting Marius relentlessly to figure out the demon’s true power. Outside of the River Thames, Bo’s power was lackluster. The few tricks up his sleeve weren’t strong enough to do effective damage to a powerful enemy.

Thankfully, a vengeful spirit could borrow their master’s mana and grow stronger alongside their master. After Wayne became a Silver-ranked mage, Bo had simultaneously grown in power thanks to the contract formed by the Book of Greed, or he wouldn’t have been able to keep the demon busy.

With his super vision locked onto Marius, Bo waited for the moment the demon flexed his muscles to repeat the same trick of creating a substitute. Unlike last time, though, the water that comprised his body didn’t respond to him, and he became immobile, unable to do anything as the sandbag-sized fist flew toward his face.

Bam!

Marius’s fist shattered Bo’s head, his eyes glinting with red light as he grinned viciously. “Demons are no simple thugs. The same trick isn’t going to work more than a couple times.”

He grabbed Bo’s tattered body and tore it to pieces with his powerful arms. One calf flew high before slamming into one of the tombstones in the cemetery.

Beside the tombstone, the Death Knight quietly watched from horseback.

Julia lowered her head and nudged the motionless calf. Bo? Why aren’t you speaking?

“You’re finally here, Death Knight.” Marius turned around with white smoke coming out of the corners of his mouth. “What a cold-blooded master, not even intervening to save your loyal servant as he met his death.”

“He’s my dog. Without my permission, not even gods can kill him.”

Wayne drew Shadow Nightmare, the ruby attached to the pommel radiating a powerful light. Suddenly, grey Death energy surged, bringing all the scattered parts of Bo’s body back together. Under Marius’s incredulous gaze, even the beige trenchcoat was restored.

Can Death do that? Marius was flabbergasted. Perhaps the Death Knight was capable of bringing a spirit back as many times as he wanted, but what about the trenchcoat? That was absurd.

“My master, I’ve failed to defeat our enemy and ended up dishonoring you.” Bo got on one knee and bowed. He was getting better and better at speaking servilely. If he had been as good at flattery in life, he wouldn’t have been stuffed into a barrel of cement and tossed into the river.

“You did well enough. Patrol the perimeter and do not let anyone disturb me.”

Wayne stayed on Julia’s back, white light dancing in the empty sockets of his skull. “Blood Worship. You controlled the decayed, corrupted blood in Bo’s body. You’re a servant of Blood Tyrant!”