Myths Reawakened

May twenty-third.

Holy Maiden of Darkness’s manor.

In the back garden, Wayne stretched his limbs like he was going to make an ultimate move. Meanwhile, Sukra was lying on a lounge chair under the tree, enjoying the last of her leisure time.

She actually had quite a nice personality with many good traits. Putting aside her tendency to slack off, she was quiet, liked reading and sleeping, respected life, had little desire, loved saving up money, and stayed vigilant.

All of her good traits could be seen as byproducts of her laziness, though. Wayne already had a glutton in his circle. With Sukra’s lazy ass added into the mix, he was now in the company of both Gluttony and Sloth.

“The Seven Sacred Virtues are rare, while the Seven Deadly Sins are everywhere. Clearly, Hell has an edge. Heaven’s current state could be seen as a successful pivot in style.” Wayne looked at the three angels behind him, trying to rile up Hesione.

Unfortunately, Hesione wasn’t working today, and even if she were, she wouldn’t argue with the Anointed One. She had come to resemble Mona more and more, agreeing to everything Wayne said unconditionally.

Learning that Wayne was going on a distant trip, Mona immediately took Hesione’s place and started a match with Anastasia. They shared him between them and swallowed what they could.

They had been bedmates for quite some time. The first time Anastasia started a two-player game, it had been Mona who showed her the ropes. Without Mona’s push, Anastasia might still be the pure Holy Maiden of Darkness she had been.

Wayne was leaving today, only coming home to bid farewell. The return date wasn’t yet confirmed since it would depend on how eagerly the Church of Death sought death.

“Boss, are you really not taking angels with you this time?” Mona adjusted her glasses. Wayne ran into demons every time he went on an outing, so this time would be no exception.

Hestia agreed. She puffed out her chest and expressed her willingness to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Śār.

You’re just planning on stealing from what you’re protecting!

Everyone knew what Hestia was thinking, Wayne included. Worried that he would accidentally fall into bed with her, he kept shaking his head in rejection.

“Things are different this time,” Wayne said with certainty. “My target is the Church of Death, and I’ll be close to the Papal State. It’s impossible for me to run into demons.”

Mona smiled. “Would you bet on that, Boss?”

“...”

“Boss?”

“It’s unwise to be petty, and I’ve long sworn to fight gambling and addiction, even quitting drinking. I’m not betting on anything.” Wayne shook his head. It was everyone’s obligation to say no to gambling and drugs.

After stretching his limbs, he pulled Shadow Nightmare out of the Void and held the blade vertically before him, murmuring under his breath. Then he returned the sword to the Void.

Following Sun and Moonlight’s investment, Darkness upped the stake. As a result, he had undergone a significant power jump, allowing him to easily do what he hadn’t been able to do.

“Sukra, come here.”

“Five minutes. Just five more minutes.” Sukra pointed at the bucket at her feet. “I’ll go after finishing this glass of juice.”

“That bucket of juice, you mean. What about after you finish it? How many hours do you plan to spend in the restroom?” Wayne went up to Sukra while clenching his fists.

“It’ll depend. I think... Oh, oh. Don’t come any closer!”

Sukra turned around and fled at an impressive speed—then ran right into Wayne’s arms with an audible thud.

“Good. Now come on.”

Wayne grabbed Sukra’s head and closed his eyes to locate Shadow Nightmare, forging a spatial pathway with his thoughts. He marched in with Sukra in his grip.

The five divine artifacts were the chosen knights’ tethers in the human world, making sure that they wouldn’t be summoned by the Divine Realms as they stayed in the Chosen Land long-term. That enabled other uses of the divine artifacts.

The divine artifacts themselves had no limit; they were as powerful as their wielders’ thoughts. As long as a chosen knight had powerful enough thoughts and an active enough imagination, they would be able to achieve unbelievable feats.

What Wayne had just done was one example. Going forward, he could travel via Shadow Nightmare, negating the need for planes.

Of course, he could also travel via air. The Pale Knight had digested the evolution of Mechanical Augmentation, including the air, land, and navy forms. Wayne could transform into a plane.

***

Romulus, Enoria.

Enoria was a country known for their noodles and beautiful ladies. In the Second World War of the Chosen Land, she had become fast allies with Prussia. Together, they waged wars and tore through all opposing forces.

Enoria was in charge of waging wars, while Prussia was in charge of the actual fighting in the wars.

Enoria was still incompetent in this iteration, and due to her incompetence, others didn’t even care enough to laugh at her even though she had made a bigger clown of herself.

Enoria had only done what she needed to do, acting exactly in line with everyone’s expectations. What was there to laugh about?

Franc would give Enoria a ten out of ten before swallowing her curses.

Anyway, Enoria of the Chosen Land was incompetent because of the political landscape in the country. Romulus, its capital, housed two different political entities: one was the Papal State that advocated for the separation of State and Church, while the other was the Enorian government, with a chaotic mess of internal factions.

That determined the kind of country Enoria was!

Anyone could see that the Papal State was the main contributor to Enoria’s incompetence. The number one religious faction of the Chosen Land had earned its reputation. Even putting aside its past glory, at present, it had under its command an Order of Holy Light consisting entirely of legendary mages; moreover, when it came to the highest power, His Holiness the Pontiff was known as the strongest combatant in the mortal realm. He would be the most powerful in the Chosen Land when disregarding those descending from higher planes.

The Pontiff had raw power as well as a good head above his shoulders. Anyone would have a hard time being the Papal State’s neighbors. Enoria had tried to resist, but later realized that lying down flat was much more comfortable.

In suburban Romulus, a dense forest sat five hundred meters from the road. Shadow Nightmare, buried in the ground, radiated threads of Death energy.

The blade now belonged fully to Wayne, so even Rognes would need his permission to use it. A weapon reflected its owner. Shadow Nightmare had been shrouded in grey mist in the past, but now it had grey tentacles swinging around with no observable patterns.

A dark passage opened. A hand reached out of it and caught the hilt of Shadow Nightmare. Soon after, two figures emerged.

Wayne closed his eyes and extended his senses. Then he sent Shadow Nightmare back into the Void with a wave. “Here we are. Go to the base of the Church of Death and raise hell.”

Sukra marveled at the knight’s prowess. They had come to Romulus with only a few steps. Wayne was even more powerful than she had expected. Why wouldn’t she slack off now?

Wayne had never been to the Papal State, which was why he had transited through Franc this time. He wouldn’t have to do the same on the return trip. He could open a portal straight home with Shadow Nightmare.

“With this,” Sukra said, nodding eagerly, “Wouldn’t I be able to go back to Londan and sleep on the sofa at night after a day of working?”

Why the sofa?

Wayne snorted. “You’re easy to satisfy. Wouldn’t sleeping on a bed be more comfortable than sleeping on the sofa?”

“No. You don’t understand what the sofa means to me.” Sukra disagreed. Sofa was superior to bed in every slacker’s mind. It was the crown jewel in their world.

“How so?”

“The sofa is in the living room.”

“Can’t you just move it into the bedroom?”

“It being in the living room is the point. The kitchen and the garden work, too, but not the bedroom.”

“...”

Wayne didn’t understand and didn’t care to understand such an obscure culture. He slapped Sukra on the shoulder to forge a white clergy robe with his thoughts. He also created a cross pendant while he was at it and transformed her sleep mask into a white mask adorned with golden patterns, in line with the Church of Heavenly Father’s style.

Sukra raised her arm and checked her sleeves. The style looked quite nice. When she turned to Wayne, he had also put on the same white clergy robe.

“This is the Church of Heavenly Father’s home ground. We should be showing respect to them as we kill and set fire.” That was Wayne’s explanation before he urged Sukra to quickly deal with the Church of Death. Then she could return home and sleep on the sofa.

Now that’s an effective motivator.

Sukra eagerly followed him out of the forest, walking toward the city. On the way, she looked around for possible hiding places for the members of the Church of Death.

She found a coffee shop.

“I’m tired. Let’s take a break!”

Thud!

Wayne knocked the top of her head with a hand chop. It was easier to go from a life of poverty to abundance than the other way around. The Holy Maiden of Death, having experienced the carefree life of a slacker, could no longer live like she had lived.

“Hitting me won’t change anything...” Sukra whined. “The Church of Death has dissolved itself and scattered across the Chosen Land, with active cells in different countries. The stronger bases are hidden in remote mountains. Besides, this is the Papal State. Almost all mages wear white robes. How am I going to look for the greyness of Death?”

“Good argument, but I refuse to accept it. So this is the Papal State, so what? This is a problem that you and the Church of Death should overcome.” Wayne spoke harshly, but still led Sukra into the cafe.

She slumped down on a chair immediately and purred with contentment. After ordering a cup of coffee, she said, “I’m being serious. It’s next to impossible to find the presence of the Church of Death in the Papal State. Even if we find any, the church won’t dare to send powerful individuals after me.”

“That’s your mistake. You should consider reverse psychology.”

“You mean... the most dangerous place is the safest place, so the Church of Death’s headquarters are hidden in the Papal State?”

“No. That would be stupid.” Wayne rolled his eyes. “After the Church of Death’s revolution, Rognes fell under the control of the demon alliance, while you’d been running and fighting back across the Chosen Land. In other words, the Papal State, which is most hostile to heretics, is the safest place for you.”

Sukra realized what he was getting at. If the Papal State hadn’t been too far away from Windsor, she would’ve come into hiding here. Before, she had to protect Wayne, the novice chosen knight who was still growing his power, as well as look for a way to save Rognes. Now, the Papal State was the best hiding place from the Church of Death.

After a few seconds, her brain complained about the work she made it do, so she turned to Wayne decisively. “O great Death Knight, would you with your incredible intelligence tell me, a lowly Holy Maiden, what to do?”

“Sukra, this isn’t how you were when we first met,” Wayne groused, getting fed up. “At the time, you were strong and brave, independent and unusually resilient. I admired you greatly.”

“Every dog has its days, and this is time for me to admire you instead!” Sukra said, unashamed. With Wayne and Rognes spearheading the operation, she just had to cheer them up. That would only require her to use her vocal cords. It didn’t matter if she was doing it lying down or standing up.

Wayne shook his head, giving up on correcting her. She had led a difficult life and more than earned the right to enjoy her leisure now.

“It’s difficult to seek out the Church of Death,” he analyzed. “You could lure them out instead. It’s as simple as promoting the true faith of Death in the Papal State. It won’t take more than a few days for the church’s main force to come knocking.”

“It won’t take more than a few days for me to be burned on a stake.” Sukra pointed at her sleep mask. She had heard that clergy members had changed their ways, going for regular women over young boys in this day and age. She looked so much like a typical witch that she would definitely get locked up in a basement.

“Don’t worry. Just do it. Even if you get locked up, I’ll get you out,” Wayne encouraged. Although this was his first time visiting the Papal State, he did enjoy quite a status here. Even the Pontiff would have to bow to him.

True!

Sukra stopped worrying with Wayne acting as her insurance. She had never entered a fight with such an advantage. Thinking back to the difficult days she had survived with those traitors pursuing her, she gnashed her teeth together with hate.

You were bullying me when Wayne wasn’t around. If you could still do it with him around, wouldn’t he have come here for nothing?

Sukra decided to make a move tomorrow.

“Do it today!” Wayne said, exasperated. “Move it after finishing your coffee. Your procrastination is getting worse!”