Myths Reawakened

Wayne shattered Ottilia’s magical defense with one punch, opening his fist to grip Ottilia’s neck. His five fingers tightened, cutting off her breathing.

Ottilia clawed at Wayne’s wrists, feeling like she was fighting a monster wearing human skin. His strength was so great that he could’ve instantly crushed her neck.

Ruthless bastard, I shouldn’t have hesitated just now!

Ottilia was incredibly frustrated, but also refused to surrender. She glared at Wayne, trying to kill him with her eyes.

“This is where your path to becoming the Holy Maiden ends. Stop struggling and go back to Londan to fall in love. That’s what matters in life...”

“Remember to consider me first.”

Wayne uttered scummy lines as his waiting fist struck Ottilia’s torso. Her back bent and arched, her eyes widening against her pale face. Her thoughts blanked out for a moment, and she almost fainted.

“Stop resisting. Just try it. Slacking off is comfortable.” Wayne offered comfort before throwing another punch.

Ottilia’s eyes rolled back, her limbs drooping powerlessly. Unable to argue with his logic, she fell silent and shut down.

Wayne hoisted her onto his shoulder and went into a free fall. His legs plunged into the surface of the moon when he landed. He extracted his feet and walked toward Veronica, patting the bottom under his hand. “How was that? I didn’t disappoint you, did I? Am I not fast?”

“Why are you touching her butt?”

“What? Were you seeing things?”

“I saw it clearly. You touched it.”

“My hand did it on its own. It wanted to touch...”

Wayne mumbled. It had been an unconscious move. He suspected that the tentacle virus had spread and infected his hands, making them sentient.

He laid Ottilia down next to Regina. Touching the Ring of Fire Element around his finger, he said to Veronica, “Take all the magic stones with you. Don’t leave out a single one. And demolish their mansion while you’re at it.”

No need. The mansion was already demolished.

Veronica nodded. Just as she was about to dig the mansion out from underground, she saw Wayne squatting by Ottilia’s side. Annoyed, she kicked him.

Losing his balance, Wayne braced himself with both hands on Ottilia’s shoulders. “What are you doing? I almost ended up kissing her.”

“That’s my line. What are you doing? Were you going to kiss her?”

“If I wanted to kiss her, I wouldn’t have propped myself up just now.”

“Your hands did that on their own!”

Perfect logic!

Since she had used his logic against him, Wayne couldn’t argue. He explained, “This map’s a scheme targeting the two of us...”

Tubert and Senna had failed to do their job properly. They had arranged for them to enter this dungeon with Ottilia, but they didn’t realize that it was exactly what the Pope wanted. The Pope had gone along with the plan and arranged for them to enter Sky City.

“The judges’ attention is elsewhere. In this remote area so far from Earth, I have to wake them up in case some pervert comes along... You should understand what I mean as a girl, right?”

How thoughtful.

Veronica agreed after some consideration, but she wasn’t entirely convinced. “There won’t be a pervert here if you don’t be one. Go prepare the portal. I’ll wake them up.”

Are you really being wary of a gentleman like me? How far has society fallen?

Wayne grumbled as he left. He had wanted to wake Ottilia up with a first kiss while Veronica wasn’t looking, but it seemed that they would have to wait until they met in Londan.

After a while, the ground rumbled and shook as mansion number four rose above ground.

Regina stood with her hands on her hips, watching the portal flicker and disappear. She said with a deep frown, “Why didn’t you make a move earlier, Ottilia. Are you a mole?”

Ottilia crouched and drew circles on the ground. She couldn’t explain herself. Even she felt like a mole. How was she going to explain to Master?

Regina huffed. “If I had known that you were a mole, it would’ve been better for my sister to come instead...”

As Regina scolded her, Ottilia made simple noises in acknowledgment. They waited for the headquarters’ response.

Soon, a portal opened, and a figure appeared before them. The graceful woman was a stunning beauty.

Flora.

“Priestess.”

“Master...” Ottilia lowered her head. “I’m sorry for disappointing you. I’ve failed to complete the mission.”

With an icy expression, Flora led them away without a word of admonishment.

***

Meanwhile, Wayne stood before the window of the mansion, looking at the dark, oppressive curtain of rain, surprised that there was a third map.

“This shouldn’t be happening!”

Senna’s cheat sheet stated that there were only two dungeons to go through in the second round, and the candidates would be scored based on their completion order. Did the Pope pull another trick?

Wayne suspected the Pope immediately. To drive him out of the selection, the man had prepared a series of plans. It would be best if Ottilia and Regina defeated him, but if they couldn’t, more schemes would follow.

The heavy rain clouds covered the sky. A flash of lightning illuminated a patch of heaven and earth. The torrential rain poured down on the deathly silent forest that undulated along the mountain range. The trees crouched quietly in wordless darkness, in stark contrast with the clamorous rainstorm.

Looking into the distance, Wayne found no trace of the Seinube River. This wasn’t the estate where the candidates rested.

“What’s going on? Did we move after advancing?” Veronica approached Wayne, gazing out the window at the nonstop downpour. “I don’t see Desiree’s mansion. Did they fail to advance?”

“It’s not that simple. Prepare for battle. The enemies we’re facing this time aren’t as nice as Ottilia and Regina.”

Wayne narrowed his eyes, extending his thoughts to communicate with the surrounding forest. Once he reached a balance, he caught sight of two hidden figures.

They’re coming!

The ground rumbled and shook as cracks spread rapidly. A rock dragon broke through the surface, emerging from the fissure in the ground. Its massive body shook the land, creating an abyssal crack with a whip to devour mansion number four.

Wayne and Veronica jumped out of the building. The fissure had spread beneath them, pitch-black and bottomless. They detonated mana to walk on air, moving to safety.

The earth dragon flew along the ground, crashing through layers of rain like a small mountain. The vicious attack was clearly meant to kill, in stark contrast to the bumbling duo of Ottilia and Regina.

The two women had wanted a fair fight, trying to make Wayne admit defeat.

Wayne grabbed Veronica with one hand, raising his other hand with splayed fingers. His thoughts reshaped nature, creating tentacles of vines that crawled from the abyss and drilled into the joints of the earth dragon.

The earth dragon halted, its segmented body entangled by vines. Its massive head broke off and fell to the ground with a thunderous splash, scattering countless droplets of water.

The enormous body shattered segment by segment until everything quieted down.

Wayne brought Veronica to land on a boulder. The earth dragon was hundreds of meters long, each segment taller than the trees around them. From the vantage point, he quickly found where the attackers were hiding.

Two figures emerged from the ground. Their stealth was so impressive that Wayne wouldn’t have discovered them without nature whispering the truth to him. Both of them wore white robes, their faces hidden under the hoods. They stood in the rain silently, exuding a tremendous aura.

“Who are you? Assassins sent by the Pope?” Wayne demanded sternly. “Has the Pope gone mad? Sending assassins for a simple disagreement. What good does offending the Order of Nature do?”

He felt like something wasn’t adding up, so he broke the silence to gather information. The Pope might disregard Senna and Tubert, but he had to show respect to the Order of Nature. Sending assassins without reservation... Did he have a stroke?

“When it’s time to act decisively, act. Leaving a threat alive will only cause trouble!” Cerci said coldly. “Wayne Lando, His Holiness the Pope has a message for you: you’re in the way.”

When Virgil remained silent, Cerci cursed his cowardice silently. Virgil was still trying to put this on him, but no matter which among them made the killing move, both would share the guilt since they had appeared together.

Cerci readily admitted to being an assassin acting on the Pope’s order, letting Wayne die with the knowledge of who the real culprit was. He was a man of action who executed his ideas immediately. Ignoring the spectating Virgil, he raised his hand overhead, summoning the torrential rain to raise a rumbling wall of water like a tsunami.

“No mana disturbance...” Veronica said in surprise. “Wayne, these two are just like you. They are elves who can communicate with nature, too.”

“I can tell.” Wayne’s pupils contracted. He had suspected the two assassins to be sent by the High Prophet for their ability to communicate with nature, but the High Prophet had no reason to attack him. The old geezer was counting on him to take the fall so that he could enjoy his new life!

As for Senna... it couldn’t be her, either. She was so desperate to have him that she was going crazy. She wouldn’t even want a scratch on him.

The Pope was the only possible answer.

Wayne quickly pieced the story together. The Pope had stolen the High Prophet’s legacy and secretly cultivated two assassins, framing the High Prophet when needed.

“Protect yourself. These two are pretty strong!” In a flash, Wayne transformed into a perfect elf standing two meters tall. He looked at the two assassins behind the tsunami as he spread his thoughts to communicate with nature.

It’s either them or me. Cut contact with them immediately, or we’re breaking up right now, never seeing each other again!