Myths Reawakened

Seeing the Pontiff and the High Prophet, Sukra covered her mask with a hand, looking shocked. But she didn’t immediately attack.

“Sukra, you traitor,” one cardinal snarled. “Are you going to resist to the very end?”

“Haha, who’s the traitor here?” Sukra scoffed. “You betrayed the goddess. You’re scorned by Death!”

“We’ve never betrayed our faith, Sukra,” Pontiff Kenneth said slowly. “We followed Death, and we’ll continue to follow Death. You’ve just been abusing your privilege as the Holy Maiden.”

He talked about ‘Death’ without specifying the brand of Death he followed. It was no different from the Tulip Families swearing allegiance to an unspecified Crown to emphasize their loyalty.

“Traitors will always be traitors,” Sukra bit out. “You’ll pay sooner or later.”

“So? Is preaching in the Papal State your revenge?” Kenneth shook his head. “It’s a good plan to incite conflicts between the Church of Death and the Church of Heavenly Father, but you’re too naive. You’ve never gotten involved in the administrative affairs within the church, so you don’t know that faith and power are separate.”

Then he pontificated about diplomacy and the value of peace, probably to make Sukra die knowing why she must die.

“Cut the crap. Even if I am to die today, I’m dragging you to the Underworld with me.” Sukra pushed her mask up. Volatile Death energy flared as she gazed at the traitors on the wall of bones with her right eye. Following a strange ripple, the doorway to the Underworld descended through layers of space.

High Prophet Duin calmly lifted the patch on her right eye. The doorway to the Underworld was banished before it could open, interrupting Sukra’s spellcasting.

Her power came from Sizorn the Executor, one of the three subordinate gods. They were avatars of Death and exercised Death’s divine power for the goddess, so Duin could close the door without issue.

Sukra scowled darkly. This was why she could never do anything to the leadership of the Church of Death. The traitors had put up a perfect disguise and possessed the ability to counter her.

“Sukra, I’m asking you one last time,” Duin said. “Would you pledge yourself to the true Death?”

“I’d rather die on the sofa!” Sukra loudly declared her wish.

She was being completely honest and literal, but others mistook that as a metaphor.

Sensing the main force of the Church of Heavenly Father in the distance, Kenneth raised his voice and said, “Sukra, the underground catacombs in Palis are gone, and so is the Death Knight. Do you know why?”

“Scared?” Sukra smiled. “I might as well tell you. The Death Knight has regained his freedom. He’s going to kill all of you.”

“...” xN

The Death Knight’s title alone was threatening, as he was the unequivocal strongest individual in the Chosen Land. Pontiff Reza? Well, Reza had always said that he was unrivaled in the human world, disregarding opponents from outside it.

The chosen knights came from higher planes. Reza was still the undeniable top among mortals.

“If the Death Knight has been freed, why would you preach in the Papal State?” Kenneth chuckled. “Stop struggling, Sukra. You cannot resist.”

That alleviated the fear of church members. They were all shocked when they learned of the strange happenings in the underground catacombs. They had remained shut in, worried that the Death Knight would be waiting right outside the church.

They only relaxed when they heard from a reliable source that Holy Maiden Sukra was preaching in the Papal State, attracting the ire of Reza. No one would think that Sukra had the Papal State’s support, that she had signed a deal with the Papal State. That would be absurd. The Holy Maiden couldn’t represent the Church of Death. Only the Pontiff of Death had the right to conduct business with the Papal State.

Any of the popes in power would make the same decision. It was obvious what someone as shrewd as Reza would choose.

Kenneth’s smile widened. The Church of Death had built a connection. Reza didn’t know the truth, so today, by putting Sukra’s head on the table, perhaps they would be able to earn more.

Boom!!!

Four rays of white light shot down from the sky in their cardinal directions, morphing into sacred lances like portals to Heaven, pointing right at the sky. Members of the Church of Death froze. The eight angels with wings of light in the sky seemed to be circling them. Was it simple posturing, or was the Church of Heavenly Father trying to get them in one clean swoop?

“Calm down!” Kenneth huffed, staring ahead with displeasure. With his thoughts, he sensed the elites of the famed Order of Holy Light closing in on them. It would seem like an ambush to capture them all, but looking closely, he saw the cardinals surround their pontiff’s vehicle in dramatic attire. They showed no fighting spirit, and on their faces...

Well, their smiles were strange. It looked as if the cardinals had learned that their colleague’s wife was giving birth to their own children, but they couldn’t laugh no matter how much they wanted to—at least they shouldn’t laugh louder than said colleague.

They didn’t look like they were here to fight, but to watch a drama unfold. Also, the vehicle of choice was quite quaint. Why would the Pontiff ride in a coach in this day and age?

Wait, isn’t Pontiff Reza riding the horse?

Kenneth’s eyes widened. He looked again and confirmed that, indeed, Reza was the rider. Was that a strange hobby of his?

Kenneth didn’t understand. He then saw the coach come to a halt, and a cardinal got to his elbows and knees to act as a staircase. Reza kicked him aside.

Reza’s face became twisted with anger. How dare a cardinal flatter the Śār like he was doing? The cardinals should be flattering him!

Reza sorted out his robe and knelt by the coach, acting as a stool with a devout look on his face.

As the members of the Church of Death gaped in shock, the cardinals not only didn’t help Reza up, but pounded their chests in frustration, regretting that they couldn’t take Reza’s place.

A hand parted the curtains, and Wayne emerged in a white clergy uniform, looking at the human step stool in exasperation.

“Mr. Wayne, please step on my back to—”

“Get out of my way. I don’t want to get my feet dirty.”

Flattery was one thing. This was way overboard. Wayne never cared for old, feudal traditions like this. He would rather they offered the sweet fruit of capitalism. Then he promised to accept the offer fully!

Kicking Reza away to stop him from trying to offer a supporting hand, Wayne disembarked gracefully. At the same time, the eight angels with wings of light descended in two lines, raising their sacred lances. The cardinals rolled out the red carpet to form a path to a white chair.

Adorned with sparkling gems, the chair looked like a freak accident in the history of human art.

Two stunning clergywomen emerged from the coach, guiding Wayne down the red carpet on his sides. As they passed, the angels got on one knee. Then Wayne plopped down on the chair and slumped with his chin resting on one hand, his eyes hooded. There was no dignity to his posture.

The angels and the cardinals got into overt conflicts over who got to guard Wayne. After some boisterous arguments, the two clergywomen were chosen to stay by Wayne’s sides due to their extraordinary beauty.

Power and flattery didn’t matter. The leader alone could decide who got to stand by him.

“...” xN

Who is this? xN

Members of the Church of Death held their breath and speculated about Wayne’s identity. Some people naturally became the center of attention even when they weren’t standing or sitting in the right way, and when there was nothing distinguished about them.

Out of respect, Kenneth brought down the ten-meter-tall wall of bones and bowed to Wayne before speaking politely, “Pontiff Reza, does this good sir come from Heaven?”

“This isn’t your business,” Reza said with a long face. “He’s here as a spectator and will not intervene with the Church of Death’s internal affairs.”

Kenneth sighed in relief. Too many strange things had happened today, and it was best to get out of here as soon as possible after dealing with Sukra. Staying here could lead to casualties.

His thoughts were interrupted by a frightening turn of events: Sukra jogged up to Wayne and, with one hand on her hips, pointed at the members of the Church of Death. “That’s them. They’ve been chasing me around and stopped at nothing to make things difficult for me.”

Yeah, and you got them back many times! Wayne thought.

He propped his chin up with his other hand and inspected the group. His effort hadn’t been wasted. Both the Pontiff and the High Prophet had shown up.

“Say something, Wayne!”

Sukra grabbed his sleeve and tugged at it, whining.

“Stop it.” Wayne yanked his sleeve back. “There are many eyes on us. If news gets out, how am I going to face other people in the future?”

“Mr. Wayne, no one saw,” Reza bowed and said.

“It’s not a question of whether there are witnesses. It’s about my own commitment to morality. You know what that is, don’t you? You showed commitment when you bribed me two days ago.”

He waved his hand like he was swatting flies away. “Those people in grey clothes are eyesores. I give you five minutes to take them all out.”

“Understood!” xN

Dozens of voices responded in unison, including the Pontiff, angels, cardinals, and the knights of the Order of Holy Light.

“Wait!” Kenneth hurriedly spoke up, beads of sweat running down his handsome face. “Sir Angel, the Church of Death has come for a traitor. We’ve never—”

“Enough,” Wayne interrupted. “I don’t care whether you’re good or bad. I just know that Sukra is a good girl, and she wants you dead. That’s enough for me.”

The Pontiff of Death was a mere extra, and an extra should know his place. He shouldn’t have this many lines.

“Sir Angel, Sukra betrayed the church,” Duin spoke quickly. “You cannot believe her just because of her beauty. We represent the Church of Death, and we are on the side of justice.”

“I believe her over you. What are you going to do about that?” Wayne shook his head and said sarcastically, “Do you hear them? These heretics talk about justice right before the Holy Light. They must not know who invented the word ‘justice’!”

He laughed heartily.

“Kekekeke—”

Reza coughed into his fist. Then everyone started laughing out loud.

“Hahahaha—” xN

Amid the laughter, scowling angels soared into the sky, and the Order of Holy Light tightened its encirclement. The weakest among them were legendary mages. The combined force that had turned hostile made the members of the Church of Death freeze in fear.

They were done for!

Kenneth believed that there was still a chance. Those in power saw things only from the perspective of their interests. He strongly believed that such a great power couldn’t have been gathered just to kill them. The intimidation was meant to pressure them in a negotiation.

Duin held her fingers out like a blade. She snapped at Sukra for shamelessly claiming to serve the Goddess of Death while using her body to win over a powerful supporter. With the loss of her purity, she no longer deserved the title of Holy Maiden.

Sukra felt falsely accused. Duin had underestimated how much she valued purity and how much Wayne respected her. While the Death Knight had many shortcomings, making his perfection difficult to notice, he also had many strong points, such as... um, such as his lack of desire for her beauty. In their daily interactions, he only ever came into contact with her head when he hand-chopped her.

Thinking about it angered her a little. Why didn’t he covet her beauty? How was she any less than Anastasia?

Anastasia was just a little more beautiful, gentle, and graceful, and she had a bigger bust. That was it. There was nothing special about her.

“Sir Angel, the Church of Death acknowledged your authority. There is no bad blood between us. While Heaven is strong, the Underworld isn’t weak. Please reconsider before you make an order.” Kenneth clutched a Philosopher’s Stone, making one last attempt at negotiation.

“Bad blood could occur at any time,” Wayne said with a smile. “Now, for example, I’ve settled my eyes on your Philosopher’s Stone.”

“I can give it to you!”

“Hahaha, are you looking down on Heaven? Why would I need you to give me the stone?” Wayne waved. “Go. Take the Philosopher’s Stone!”

As soon as he made the order, Reza charged. As the Pontiff and the commander of the Church of Heavenly Father, he led the charge and outpaced all the cardinals, proving his devout faith. The eight angels, on the other hand, hesitated since abusing the weak with greater numbers would tarnish Heaven’s reputation. When they realized it, they were already falling behind the cardinals.

Seeing that the other party was truly aiming to get them all, Kenneth growled and clutched the Philosopher’s Stone, unfolding a simplified vitality domain.

With her eye patch removed from her right eye, Duin guarded Kenneth on his side in case Sukra sneaked up on them.

A simplified vitality domain was still a vitality domain, able to intimidate the cardinals and Holy Light knights into freezing. Pontiff Reza alone fearlessly charged into the decayed world of bones, sending a skeletal dragon flying with a punch and making quick work of the skeletal army with melee attacks.

In no time, the two pontiffs were facing off, leader to leader.

“Who is he, Reza?”

Kenneth didn’t understand what was happening. It would be absurd if Wayne simply coveted Sukra’s beauty.

The two blue-eyed blonde beauties by the angel’s sides made it clear that Sukra would only be getting scraps after they had gotten their fill. Had Sukra offered the secrets of the Underworld in exchange for Heaven’s full support?

Heaven was going after the Underworld!

“You’re wasting your breath, Kenneth. Let me borrow your head. You’ll be heavily rewarded!”