Myths Reawakened

In the mountainous forest, stone stairs meandered uphill among towering ancient trees and dense canopies. Sunlight and moonlight shone through. The chirps of birds and insects filled the quiet, and the refreshing smell of vegetation permeated the air. One would assume that they had entered the headquarters of the Church of Nature when they stepped in.

The headquarters of the Church of Darkness demonstrated great diversity, which was inexplicably linked to the doctrines of the church. Here, one would see the sun, the moon, and the harmony of life in nature. Once again, it was a sight that would make followers of the other churches pop a vessel.

A few arenas sat in the forests, built for training, tests, and sparring. Every church had such arenas, and the Church of Darkness was no exception. Studying was a means to an end, and studying for study’s sake would amount to nothing. A qualified mage had to make use of what they had learned.

Each arena came with seating for the audience. The center one was a flat platform of black tiles, polished to a shine by the many losers who had been humiliated in matches. Standing on it, one could see their faint reflection on the floor.

The higher-ups of the Church of Darkness and the delegation of the Church of Nature each took one side of the arena. On the Church of Darkness’s side, Ivan sat in his seat with an expressionless face while the Oracle High Reverends stood around Anton to give him advice on how to win elegantly.

“Do this first, then that next. And you’ll win.”

“That won’t be appropriate. This is an envoy from the Church of Nature. If we humiliate him as soon as he arrives, won’t that be a humiliation for the Church of Darkness?”

“Then... should we go easy on him?”

“That won’t be appropriate either. One should always do their best in a spar, or it’ll not only be disrespectful, but there’s also the risk of losing because of hubris.”

“Why would we lose? The referee, the witnesses, the organizer, and the co-organizer were all our people. How is he going to defeat us?”

“You’re right. Then we should go a little easy on him.”

Ivan stared at them exasperatedly. Do you hear yourself? Do this and that and win? Who gives you the confidence? The Goddess of Darkness?

The goddess is on his side! This first, that next, and you’re dead!

Ivan didn’t dare speak the truth, and as the Pope, he couldn’t say something that would dampen their unity. In the end, he concluded that the logical course of action was to sacrifice Anton to make Wayne happy.

If Wayne was happy, the goddess would be happy, and if the goddess was happy, the church would prosper. They would all have a bright future ahead of them.

“I got it. I got the insider information.” A black-robed figure rushed over. He was another Oracle High Reverend.

In an animated manner, he gesticulated and said, “I asked around. You won’t believe this, but that pretty boy named Wayne was only a level one Archdeacon before becoming an Oracle High Reverend.”

“Huh? How did he get promoted so quickly?”

“The Church of Nature has gone through a reorganization. Pope Ludwig is heading to the Divine Realm, so Senna, the madwoman, is governing the church temporarily as the acting pope. She promoted her student’s student to take over her work and duty.”

“Nepotism truly is the Church of Nature’s tradition. With Senna’s support, the Church of Darkness will only soar further!”

“Not only that, but the pretty boy is also Senna’s paramour. He’s earned his promotion through his longcoming, if you catch my drift.”

“That can’t be. He’s her student’s student, basically a child to her.”

“I know. Actually, the pretty boy isn’t an ordinary man. He’s a Londaner, from Windsor. You know the Lando family, right? He’s a prince!”

“No wonder. It makes sense for an old noble family to rebel and become royalty.”

“The Church of Nature has fallen again.”

“You can’t just say that. We should respect other people’s fate and put aside our savior complex. Senna will become the pope, and we outsiders are in no position to criticize her.”

“I remember that she’s the same age as Lady Holy Maiden, so they’re often compared. Tsk, I didn’t expect her to fall so far.”

“Right. Lady Holy Maiden would never do what she did.”

“He’s just a pretty boy who got his job because of his family and his physical appeal. I’ll win.”

“...”

ε=(′д`*)))

Life was hard. Ivan could only sigh.

As soon as Anton heard the Pope’s sigh, he walked out of the circle of gossipers and whispered, “Don’t worry, Your Holiness. I know the rules. The Church of Nature has sent a pretty face rather than someone who can put up a fight, so they must need something from us.”

You know nothing!

“I’ll defeat him by a small margin to make sure that the church will have the upper hand at the negotiation table, but I won’t make them suffer a humiliating defeat.”

Just try not to meet a humiliating death!

Ivan waved Anton away, sending him off.

Meanwhile, the delegation from the Church of Nature was surrounded by gloom.

Only a few higher-ups of the church knew that Wayne was the Nature Knight. With Elemental Mantra’s ability to kill them instantly, the weasels wouldn’t run their mouths outside the inner circle. As a result, the other members of the church knew little about Wayne. All they remembered was that he had attended the Holy Maiden selection last year.

Therefore, Wayne’s sudden promotion was shrouded in mystery. Many theories sprouted overnight.

Moreover, because he was often around Senna, many had seen the unusual interactions between the strong career woman and her boy toy. The story about the Pope keeping a pet thus spread to the Church of Darkness.

No one dared to say anything or ask any questions. They looked at Wayne’s back helplessly and prayed that the other side would pull his punches, especially to Wayne’s face.

Our Oracle High Reverend’s livelihood depends on his face!

Wayne, with his eyes closed, heard the referee’s call. He smiled and stepped onto the arena. It was his first time hearing about a delegation entering a fight. Respecting the process, he agreed to the challenge without hesitation, even asking to fight immediately rather than in three days.

He had just gotten off the plane and had a lot of steam to blow. He didn’t have to wait three days. He’d rather get it over with right now.

Ivan didn’t say anything, so naturally, the Church of Darkness posed no objections. The large group had moved to the arena together, and here they were.

On the other side of the arena, Anton took the stage amid thunderous applause. Except for Ivan, everyone was excited.

The Oracle High Reverend was immediately welcomed by the referee, witnesses, organizer, and co-organizer. Every factor was on his side, and he could see a vibrant future ahead of him.

He had this in the bag, for sure.

Unlike the boisterous members of the Church of Darkness, the delegation from the Church of Nature groaned and clapped with half-hearted effort, their expressions sour and dispirited.

Wayne scanned the other side and saw their fighting spirit and harmony. The leadership of the Church of Nature was atrocious compared to that of the Church of Darkness. Garvin was the only exception.

“Mr. Wayne, I’ve been a little rude. I hope you don’t take offense.” Anton placed a hand behind his back. With his black robe, he looked somewhat like a martial arts master.

“I won’t mind as long as Mr. Anton goes easy on me.”

“Of course. This is a friendly sparring.”

After the brief exchange of pleasantries, the referee activated the warding barrier around the arena to prevent friendly fire to the audience. In an instant, the arena became an isolated space, with a water screen on each side projecting what was going on inside, making sure that the audience wouldn’t miss anything.

“Mr. Wayne, please go on,” Anton said politely.

“Then I will take advantage of your generosity.”

Wayne narrowed his eyes slightly before raising a hand with his fingers pressed together. The thick vitality emitting from his fingertips projected a white, five-meter greatsword. It looked identical to Elemental Mantra.

A tremendous wave of mana rippled out, obscuring his figure until he couldn’t be perceived by the naked eye. Meanwhile, the projected greatsword became more and more vivid, its blade gleaming with an almost physical metallic shine.

The greatsword hummed, and invisible pressure fluctuated across the isolated space of the arena. The heavy pressure made the audience feel suffocated and even smell a hint of death.

Holy shit, aren’t you just a pretty face? xN

“What divine art is that?” Anton’s surprise morphed into shock. Heart sinking, he sensed an overpowering pressure and reflexively readied his vitality field.

No, I mustn’t!

Since he was the host, he refrained from using his vitality field. He couldn’t admit his inferiority in their first exchange. While Wayne’s divine art was powerful, it wasn’t impossible to defend against.

Taking a deep breath, Anton pushed out with both hands and unleashed black light to create three doorways of darkness, all the while manifesting a thick triangular shield of darkness. On both the doorways and the shield was the faint image of the Goddess of Darkness.

Facing the devastating attack, he chose to put up his strongest defense.

Rip!

The three doorways dissipated like torn paper before the audience could even blink. Wayne raised his sword, crushing all obstacles with only the manifested aura of his blade. Now facing the sturdiest black shield, he brought his hand down, and the white aura instantly cut the shield in half, seemingly bisecting the man behind it, too.

The spectators blanched in shock. They had expected the fight to be one-sided, but not on the opponent’s side. And they didn’t expect to lose a member!

Before the crowd on the Church of Darkness’s side could furiously rush in to avenge Anton, though, the white greatsword faded into nothing. The black shield had been cut in half, but not Anton.

Wayne patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “This is a friendly sparring, right? Now it’s your turn.”

“Oh! Oh? Oh...”

Anton opened his mouth and closed it. He felt like he had just glimpsed into the Divine Realm of Darkness briefly. His robe was drenched in cold sweat. He almost thought he was dead.

“Mr. Anton, it’s your turn. Make your move.”

“My turn?”

Anton took a deep breath, calming his heart before it could jump out of his chest. Facing an unprecedentedly powerful enemy, he felt lost, like he was standing in a mist thick enough to deprive him of sight.

It’s lies. It’s all lies. We’ve fallen for the Church of Nature’s trickery.

The pretty boy had been promoted because of his competence rather than his longcoming. He hadn’t relied on anything other than power, and he certainly hadn’t convinced Nature’s Pope by bedding her.