Myths Reawakened

The Moonlight Knight was armed with a long bow and a shortsword. Like the Sun Knight, she didn’t have a mount. Unlike the Death Knight and Sun Knight, she was clad in silver light armor that didn’t conceal the curves of her body. Instead of a knight, she seemed more like an elven hunter roaming under the moonlight.

Her facial features were obscured by a mask of moonlight, her long platinum blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She was clearly a woman.

The Nature Knight’s armor was similarly light, and the obscured facial features belonged to a man. Projected by the Big Joker, the strongest card of the deck, he radiated a significant aura that couldn’t be ignored the moment he appeared, which set him apart from the other knights.

Without wasting his breath, Auston lifted the seals on the cards and granted the knights access to their corresponding faith’s power, going all out against the three demon lords.

The Death Knight went after Lust, the Moonlight Knight went after Envy, and the Nature Knight went after Gluttony. Auston also unsealed the Sun Knight, ordering him to quickly take down the fleshy ball of void Wayne was using for his act as soon as possible.

Wayne was part of the Lando family. It didn’t make sense that he should be allowed to watch on the sideline while Auston risked himself on the frontline.

Rip!

Four black curtains drew open, and out walked four figures. Three among them were a half-dragon, half-human vessel for the Lord of Wrath, a minotaur for the Lord of Sloth, and a black crow for the Lord of Greed. The vessels of six out of seven demon lords had all arrived, missing only the one for the Lord of Pride.

The mysterious man didn’t lie. As a disciple of the Lord of Pride, he had tremendous respect for his master, so they moved and hid the vessel elsewhere.

The last of the four newcomers was Caim.

The unlucky demon familiar had been converted into a disloyal servant serving two masters not long after arriving in the human world. One of his masters was the Lord of Night, Stolas, who had created him, and the other... Caim didn’t know the identity of. He simply followed the orders given to him.

The six vessels each held the power of their corresponding demon lords, and with more than five of them, their divine powers interacted and manifested an inverted pentagram, creating a flickering energy forcefield. Using this space as an anchor, a part of hell was projected, transforming the environment into a magnificent world of molten lava.

Only five of the Seven Demon Lords were needed to recreate hell. The head of the demons, the Lord of Pride, hadn’t even shown themselves!

Auston saw Caim as a special threat at first glance. Cursing at the compounded trouble, he drew more cards to create projections, finally gathering the seven-piece knight set: Nature Knight (Big Joker), Darkness Knight (Little Joker), Death Knight (King of Spades), Moonlight Knight (King of Hearts), Sun Knight (Queen of Hearts), Heaven Knight (Queen of Spades), and Hell Knight (Jack of Spades).

When all that was done, Auston was heaving and sweating like a dog, his trembling legs barely keeping him upright.

Under Veronica’s relentless elbowing, Wayne finally gave up on continuing his wrestle with the Sun Knight. The white tentacles of the fleshy sphere writhed, contracting into a three-meter-tall faceless figure. A gap tore open in its chest, revealing a demonic eye.

Wayne was suddenly gone from Veronica’s back. She didn’t know that she was essentially wearing Wayne like clothes, and through the lens of the eye in front of her, she saw the world clearly and came to understand it.

Wayne had to spit her out quickly.

He wasn’t sure if his influence was good or bad yet. He had already victimized High Reverend Filomina and turned her into the unsavory combination of an elf and tentacles; he couldn’t convert Veronica, too.

Veronica fell on the ground. Remembering the moment of thought disturbance she just experienced, she couldn’t help but shudder. Hurriedly, she went up to Auston and held his arm, preventing him from falling.

A tentacle reached toward the father and daughter, opening a toothless mouth. “Veronica, Auston’s fine. Don’t let him fool you.”

The move made her break out in goose bumps. She had had the honor of seeing Wayne’s form when he merged with the Book of Greed, but he hadn’t had tentacles then. He had become less and less human over the past six months.

Auston panted. “Veronica, don’t listen to his nonsense. He wants me to exhaust myself to death so that he can take over the Lando family early. If I die, remember that he is the culprit.”

(눈‸눈)

Is this really the time? Can’t you two be more serious?

She punched Auston in the face before clutching Wayne’s tentacle and hurling him over her shoulder. The tentacle snapped with an audible sound, followed by Wayne’s scream.

Veronica was nearly losing her mind. She didn’t want to stay with the father and son duo any longer. If there was a next time, she swore to follow Mother and Megan closely.

“Auston Lando and Wayne Lando, both of you are on the list...”

Caim came over. His clear eyes belied the fact that the mysterious figure had controlled his thoughts. He laughed and celebrated his victory prematurely, the vessels for six of the Seven Demon Lords following close behind.

His clothes were tattered, and his fedora was gone, leaving his unkempt hair exposed. His gold-rimmed glasses were now a monocle. The hand holding the walking stick was grimy, with black mud staining his nails. Nothing about him spelled a graceful member of high society.

Wayne huffed. “An outsider coming to Londan to beg for food? You’d better watch yourself. My father, Auston, is going to break your other lens.”

Auston’s eyes twitched. He had never suffered a worse slander in his life.

Veronica facepalmed and grumbled, “Brother Wayne, if you keep spouting nonsense, I swear I’m going to strangle you to death.”

Wayne shrugged, whispering, “I’ve been working hard. Didn’t you notice that the succubus’s charm no longer works on you?”

Veronica paused. That was true. Ever since she barged into the fleshy sphere, the succubus’s temptation had lost its effect on her. She no longer flushed red, and her heart no longer raced.

She turned to the succubus for confirmation.

Gulp! x3

Well, what was beautiful was still beautiful. Even though her thoughts were no longer influenced, the attraction was still there.

Wayne had expanded his thoughts to shield Veronica from the psychic corruption of the six vessels, including not only the succubus’s seduction, but also the thought invasion from Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, and Gluttony.

Each vessel corresponded with a desire. Although the demon lords had not descended personally, a glance at their vessels would’ve pulled anyone into the abyss of cravings, enslaving them. With six vessels in the same space, the combined influence could not be taken lightly. Even a shred of the power would’ve disturbed a mage’s thoughts to a lethal degree.

Wayne was curious how Auston was able to stay on his feet when he hadn’t shielded him. The old man was beyond suspicious.

Auston far surpassed the limit of a Silver-ranked mage, evident in the sheer amount of mana he had used to draw cards and the strength of his thoughts that allowed him to command seven knights at once.

Ignoring Wayne’s dubious gaze, Auston fiddled with the silver coin quickly. As a high-ranking member of the Ministry of Magic, he was entitled to his secrets, and as the head of the family, he didn’t owe Wayne an explanation.

Conversely, Wayne should be explaining to him!

“Judging by your appearance and attire, you must be Mr. Caim, who attacked Windsor Castle. I wonder why you would put aside the orders made by your master, the Night Tyrant, doing the bidding of another leader at the ministry instead...”

Who was that person, and why would the demon listen to them?

Auston stared at Caim with glinting eyes. “I’m guessing you’re already under control.”

Caim frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m wide awake, and I have been and will only ever be loyal to the great Lord of Night.”

The next second, he suddenly changed the subject. “Auston, you’ve got an interesting silver coin there. I heard it’s related to the Goddess of Death. May I have a look? I promise that as long as you hand it over, your wife and daughter will be spared.”

The Goddess of Death? The silver coin?

Wayne looked at the antique silver coin Auston was holding. Last night, Wayne had recovered the coin that should’ve belonged to the Death Knight, and there was nothing special about it, no different from Planck’s. The tokens given to the leadership of the ministry were meant to open a gateway into the grey space, allowing the capture of his elemental old friends.

It was considered part of the salary. The royal family was essentially using the four elements in the grey space to keep the morally corrupt higher-ups of the ministry in check.

Based on what Wayne knew, Auston’s coin was gone, and the one he was holding now was compensation from the Queen. Thus... The coin related to Death was now in Wayne’s hand. He just hadn’t figured out its differences!

Thinking of that, he started studying the two coins buried in his chest, but like last night, he didn’t discover anything unusual.

Something isn’t right!

Wayne was certain that it wasn’t his mistake since the large eyeball of the Book of Greed had not made a misjudgment to this day. If the coin had anything to do with faith, the book would’ve started feasting.

Confused, he wondered if the demon had bought into hearsay and falsely accused Auston, but since it was Auston, who was even less trustworthy than a demon... The coin Wayne acquired last night wasn’t the right one, perhaps. Auston had to possess a coin related to the Goddess of Death, but hid it from him.

Oh, are we playing this game? Fine, I’ll ask you out again one day and exchange our coins!

“Apologies, this coin came from the royal family and has nothing to do with the Goddess of Death. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Auston played with the coin and unhesitatingly framed the Death Knight. “The one you want was taken by the Death Knight last night. The royal family has allied with the knight, with the coin as the price.”

(눈_눈)

See, even demons seem harmless when compared to Auston.