Myths Reawakened

Saint George’s Oath Sword carried the power of Heaven, suppressing the great dragon’s formidable vitality along with the Law of Death that gathered at its demise. After hundreds or even thousands of years, the heavenly power within the Oath Sword remained undiminished.

The great might dispersed the false hellish aura surrounding Archibald. The black mist scattered, his black wings transforming into pure white ones, and the three golden bands of light that had been created by the sacred text of Golden Law circled him, the ends joined seamlessly.

Archibald’s form had drastically changed. Now three meters tall, he looked gaunt and slender, his elongated limbs covered in pale skin. He gripped the sword with clawed hands, a carapace mask covering half his face.

He had a hellish look, but he had the sacred wings of angels and the great heavenly might that the Oath Sword infused him with. The combination seemed outrageous at first, but upon closer inspection, it was beyond outrageous.

The demon with angel wings not only didn’t get consumed by Heaven’s power as he wielded the sword of an archangel of Heaven, but in fact gained tremendous power from it.

Of course, everything would make perfect sense if it were an angel disguised as a demon.

Darienne and Wayne didn’t consider the possibility. Archibald’s hellish form was convincing, and he was powerful enough to sell the act. Under the preconception, they both assumed that Archibald’s new form was an influence of the Oath Sword.

Archibald raised Oath Sword high. Surging heavenly power flooded into his body continuously, like the brilliance of dawn driving away his darkness. Blinding holy light erupted from him, the endless radiance cascading down. The bone dragons stopped roaring and fell silent once more.

Archibald was ecstatic. Wielding the Oath Sword, he had only one thought in his mind: I can slay gods!

Deep down, he knew that the omnipotence was only an illusion brought about by his sudden surge in power. If he believed it, he would be doomed.

The records stored in the Papal State described in great detail the power of the chosen knights. Given his current power, even the Oath Sword wouldn’t allow him to defeat one. He would have to obtain Saint George’s blood, shed the human shell of a reincarnated angel, and transform into his original angelic self from thoughts to flesh.

“This is getting more and more interesting,” Darienne said with narrowed eyes, nocking her slim blade of moonlight to White Night Creed. The sword became an arrow. With a twang of the bowstring, brilliant aurora shot down.

The instant the sword was nocked, Archibald’s heart seized up with dread. An overwhelming sense of mortal danger overtook him. He had a precognition of the arrow piercing his chest, tearing his thoughts from his body in an instant.

I’ll die!

Without hesitation, he raised the Oath Sword before him and activated the Golden Law of Angels within it, transforming the three circling golden bands into a triangular shield. On the shield were numerous carved symbols and characters from the Golden Law, along with the faint figure of an angel kneeling with their shield raised in defense.

The arrow of white light flew toward him, hitting the golden triangular shield, and went through it.

It then hit the Oath Sword—and went through it, too.

The white light ignored all defenses, locked onto Archibald’s chest. It was as if cause and effect had been reversed, and the moment the arrow left the string, it was destined to strike both Archibald’s flesh and thoughts.

Whoosh!

The white light shot into the distance. Both the angel projection and the golden shield crumbled simultaneously, dissolving into particles of Holy Light. The Oath Sword remained intact, only its light had dimmed. In terms of grade, the dragon-slaying sword was in the same class as White Night Creed. Due to the vast difference between the wielders’ powers, however, the Oath Sword seemed inferior.

Archibald’s chest was penetrated, leaving an open wound that could be seen through. As the afterimage of the white light flying into the distance faded, a transparent figure could be seen pulled from his body; it was his spirit and thoughts, or it could be considered his soul.

Crack!

A magic stone shattered. The transparent shadow returned to Archibald’s body, and his physical wounds instantly healed. He looked at the Moonlight Knight and the longbow she wielded, still reeling.

I can’t win! I stand no chance!

He had been riding on the high of obtaining the Oath Sword, so, despite knowing there was a gap in their powers, he had believed with confidence that if he played his cards right, he would not only escape the Moonlight Knight but also take the Oath Sword with him.

Time to revise his strategy. He only wanted to live.

What to do? If he shed his hellish disguise and revealed that he was a reincarnated angel, would the Moonlight Knight forget this chance encounter since they were both on the side of justice?

Of course not.

Archibald knew better. The Moonlight Knight would only try harder and finish him off while no one else was around.

The bowstring sang once more. Archibald’s scalp tingled. The scythe of death was pressed against his neck. There was no time for him to formulate plans, so he had no choice but to go all out.

He gripped the sword with both hands to exert all his strength. Behind him, a phantom gate to Heaven slowly opened. Guided by the Oath Sword, Holy Light magic at the level of forbidden spells formed in an instant, bypassing the need for numerous formulas.

The moment the gate opened, the entire world fell silent. Time seemed to slow, and everything froze in place. Only the moonlight continued to move slowly.

The arrow approached, growing larger and larger in Archibald’s eyes, mere millimeters from piercing his skull. He beat his wings to evade it, narrowly avoiding the infinitely slowed yet incredibly swift arrow. Swinging the Oath Sword, he commanded the Holy Light within the heavenly gate to descend.

Endless white light converged, countless particles of pure white fire gathering to form a massive lance that covered the sky. Like a shooting star, it plunged toward Darienne.

The infinite Holy Light froze time itself to deliver a judgment that ended all forms of life.

Boom!!!

A pillar of blazing white light shot up. White flames pooled into a curtain that covered the sky. Wisps of overflowing energy twisted the surrounding space as tremendous shockwaves spread outward.

Within the Grey Space, only the mountain of dragon bones remained. Everything else collapsed and disintegrated in an instant, including the mountains, the vibrant green grass, and even the sea of fire that had remained unextinguished in the sky above. All were erased from existence by the Holy Light.

Fierce gusts swept, and shockwaves surged ever higher. Though he was far away, Wayne was still knocked over. His hiding place vaporized, and he nearly got blasted by the indiscriminate bombardment of Holy Light.

Brother Light, I’m on your side!

At the last moment, Wayne commanded the Book of Greed to make eye contact with the smaller eyeball of Holy Light to convert his mana to its color. By virtue of being on the side of Holy Light, he survived the baptism unharmed.

Well, not exactly unharmed. He was sent spinning through the air, tumbling several times before he executed a challenging landing.

Wayne! He’s here?

Archibald detected the energy of the Golden Law. Looking over, he quickly spotted his fellow angel.

His mind raced, and an escape plan formed in his head. The Lando family had received help from chosen knights and successfully overthrew the Windsor royal family, which meant that the Moonlight Knight’s presence was likely related to Wayne. If the Moonlight Knight cared about him, the plan might work.

Let’s take the gamble!

Archibald believed that the plan was viable. Wayne was close to the chosen knights. Whatever trick he had pulled, whether it was deception or bribery, he had secured the support of the chosen knights for the Lando family.

Archibald was betting on Wayne’s importance to the Moonlight Knight. Even if she hesitated for only a moment, that would give him enough breathing room!

The radiance of Holy Light receded. It was common knowledge that rising thick smoke meant no one was hurt, and indeed, Darienne was fine. The aloof beauty had put on Moonlight Armor, with only a bit of ash getting onto her cheeks.

Her hair wasn’t even messed up!

Watching the scene from afar, Wayne found another rock to hide behind, assessing the combat power of both sides.

The difference was obvious. The demon had an advantage in special effects since his fighting style was flashy, following up ultimate moves with more ultimate moves. If he could catch Darienne off guard by exploiting her overconfidence, victory was still possible.

Now look at Darienne...

There was not much to say. She was an all-rounder marksman, overpowered in all stats. Her basic attack was as devastating as ultimate attacks. Apart from having terrible sportsmanship in card games and a dirty mouth, she had virtually no weaknesses.

“Come on, Brother Demon with a big sword,” Wayne muttered quietly.

Boom!

Archibald flapped his wings and closed in on Darienne. The Oath Sword scattered particles of white flames as he swung it continuously, transforming into layer upon layer of projections. With the projection of Heaven’s gate behind him, his every move radiated brilliant light, like a god of war descending from Heaven. Wherever he pointed his blade, there would be no unwinnable battles.

The gate slowed Darienne, and she leisurely defended herself with her longbow.

She was still faster and stronger than Archibald.

The power gap between them was insurmountable, and fighting wasn’t viable. Archibald was self-aware enough to aim for escape.

Darienne was in no hurry. Slow fighting had its appeal. Not only wasn’t she anxious, but she was even considering whether she should have Wayne swapped in; formidable opponents like this were difficult to come by.

The demon was strong!

Perfect for training her successor.

Darienne held back while Archibald attacked with increasing speed and ferocity. In a flash, an impenetrable net of Holy Light enveloped her. Fierce sword aura surged. The dense web of crisscrossing light stirred like energy vortexes, blocking all escape routes and giving Darienne no room to breathe.

Murderous intent crashed down. Wayne couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat for the demon as he watched. Just hold on a little longer. Victory is near.

White Night Creed blocked the Oath Sword. Under Archibald’s horrified gaze, a pale hand passed through the barrier of Holy Light and reached toward him.

Not daring to come into contact with the hand, Archibald retreated with his wings, summoning the Holy Light inside the heavenly gate once more.

Darienne’s bowstring sang. Overwhelming moonlight crashed through the gate and smothered the Holy Light until it vanished completely. Then Archibald saw only a flash. He didn’t know if he had gotten a kick or a punch, but he knew that his forehead was nearly caved in, and the pain was bone deep. He flew backward uncontrollably.

No good. Wayne and I are...

Huh, getting closer?

Though Archibald didn’t know why this was happening, it aligned perfectly with his plan. He twisted his body mid-air with difficulty, beating his wings to accelerate continuously. Gripping the Oath Sword with both hands, he charged forward with a roar.