Myths Reawakened

That’s way too feudal of you. Can’t you offer something more capitalistic?

Wayne muttered to himself. Then he raised a hand magnanimously. Today, they had all made a contribution by pacifying the encroaching Church of Death. He, Śār Hesione, promised that every participant would go to Heaven.

The angels who had come from Heaven didn’t need to envy the others. Once Hesione returned to Heaven, they would all be promoted.

Anyway, Śār Hesione was fair in dispensing rewards and punishments. Those who followed him could expect promotion and great fortune.

Everyone expressed their gratitude. Reza even burst into tears. “You’re merciful, Mr. Wayne. Whenever I think about how I could serve you in your legion once I go to Heaven, I can’t wait to follow you there.”

Don’t. You don’t know how much Hesione wants to get you killed. If you join her legion of angels, she’ll cut your head off and use it as a soccer ball!

“Someone loyal like you should follow me,” Wayne said, nodding seriously. “You’ve made the greatest contribution today. I promise you that you’ll be a Throne as soon as you enter Heaven!”

He would bet that Reza would thank him!

“Thank you for your mercy and recognition. This subordinate swears to be loyal to you for eternity.” Reza sobbed while cheering in his head. His effort hadn’t been in vain. He had even gone as far as arranging for the warehouses of the Papal State to be raided by Pride and Greed, which earned him the Śār’s recognition. Not only did the Śār forgive the offer of the clergywoman, but he also offered Reza entrance to Heaven and a promise that he would become a Throne.

A Throne wasn’t anything to sneeze at. It would take many years for someone to accumulate the achievements necessary for the status. Reza, on the other hand, had done it in five days. His promotion speed was unrivaled.

“Let us return. This Empe—bah, I’m tired.”

“This subordinate will prop you up.”

“Go away!”

***

Back in the palace of the Papal State, Sukra lay bonelessly on the highly artistic sofa, asking Wayne to move it back to Londan for her. After lying on it a few times, she had gotten attached.

“You’re a sentimental one.” Wayne rolled his eyes at her, producing the Philosopher’s Stone from Kenneth. “So, are you coming with me to wipe out the rest of the traitors?”

Sukra didn’t say anything. Judging by her adorable snore, she had already fallen asleep.

Wayne shook his head. Closing his eyes, he detected the coordinates of Shadow Nightmare and sent Sukra and the sofa to the Holy Maiden of Darkness’s manor.

By his side, the two clergywomen silently awaited his orders. Wayne pondered for a moment. This was his first visit to the Papal State, and it might be his last time. He would say no to the offer. The clergywomen should continue training diligently in the palace. Once they went to Heaven, they only had to name Hesione, and angels would lead them to Hesione’s legion for registration.

Once he walked out of the palace, he ran into Pontiff Reza, who was once again passing by.

Shrewd as he was, Reza put two and two together and said, “Are you leaving the Papal State, Mr. Wayne?”

“Yes, I have a mission that concerns demons. I have to go.”

Wayne nodded. He belatedly regretted not making a bet with Mona. He knew there wouldn’t be any demons in the Papal State. He had suddenly chickened out.

It was Hesione’s fault for always nagging him about the Anointed One, making him believe that he attracted demons.

There was no demon around! He couldn't run into any here! This was the Papal State. If there were a demon, they would’ve been dealt with by Auriel and the other reincarnated angels.

Wayne believed this was strong proof that he wasn’t the Anointed One. He kept that in mind and planned to use it to battle it out with Mona/Hesione.

He wasn’t demon-nip. It was purely a cock-and-bull story. A real cockeyed one would never believe it[1]!

Hearing that it concerned demons, Reza immediately swallowed the hundreds of thousands of words that were at the tip of his tongue. He proposed an alternative that took about fifty thousand words to explain: he asked if Wayne would need help. He could be the driver.

“It’s enough,” Wayne said approvingly. “I saw your determination to go to Heaven, and I approve of your actions. From my point of view, you, Your Horniness the Pontiff, deserve to go to Heaven. But...”

Reza stiffened. ‘But’ was the scariest word in the world because it was never followed by good news.

“But my clergywoman secretary is unhappy with you. Because of you, she lost her purity. She can’t do anything to me, so to you...” Wayne shook his head and chuckled. “Be ready. Although she’s a nice one, when she loses her temper, not even I dare intervene.”

“Mr. Wayne,” Reza said stiffly, “May I ask if you’d join her when Clergywoman Mona comes after me?”

“I won’t!”

“That’s a relief. I’ll do my best to win her forgiveness.” Reza wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, putting on a concerned look for Wayne’s benefit so that the Śār wouldn’t feel disrespected.

In truth, Reza didn’t take Mona seriously. If she hadn’t bedded the right person, she wouldn’t even be allowed to look at Reza.

He didn’t fear her!

“Mr. Wayne,” he said carefully, “Is it true that Clergywoman Mona is pregnant?”

“Whether it’s true or not, your gift is expected.”

“Of course.” Reza nodded. “What a coincidence. In addition to you, Mr. Wayne, another reincarnated angel has impregnated his secretary.”

Now that he had secured Hesione’s support, Reza stopped acting. He had pledged his full loyalty, so he revealed important information about the other reincarnated angels.

For example, Archibald/Vilkul had produced an offspring in the human world.

Wayne was immediately wide awake. He said gleefully, “Who is it? Did Kael—I mean, Gerar—get into an accident while driving tanks?”

“No, it’s Sir Vilkul.”

“Oh?!”

Wayne fell into deep thought. Vilkul was Archibald, the angel of Gentleness, who had been angry all the time. No wonder he was cranky. He had awakened to find a child forced on him.

Having a descendant wasn’t a big problem, though. The royal families and imperial families of different countries all had angelic blood. The Windsor family even had Mikhael’s blood. Since the Viceroy of Heaven had made the same mistake, Vilkul shouldn’t be worried.

Wayne didn’t know that Vilkul’s anger was manifold. Producing an offspring while he was none the wiser was one thing. The majority of his anger stemmed from how his other self had schemed against him alongside the Pontiff.

After a moment, Wayne figured out the situation. When he saw the innocent look on Pontiff Reza’s face, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Good job, but don’t do it again. Take care of Titus. She’s a good clergywoman.”

“This subordinate understands.”

***

Night fell. In a town south of Enoria, quiet moonlight poured onto the slab path and rimmed it with a faint glow. It looked like a silver path leading to a dreamscape.

The mist and light dispersed. Wayne took a step onto the path. The Death Knight had just had a conversation with the traitors. They admitted their guilt and received their judgment, taking a one-way trip to the Underworld.

According to the doctrines of the Church of Death, all followers would be guided to the Underworld to enjoy an eternal serenity at the end of their lives. Whether it was true or not, the Divine Realm of Death was in such disorder that their time there would have nothing to do with serenity.

“Rognes said he was going to go to the Underworld and employ guerrilla tactics. I wonder what’s going on there. Is the Misfortune Spider a spy...?”

Wayne drew Shadow Nightmare and murmured at it before sending it into the Void. Then he took one step and went through the spatial passage, arriving at his destination—Sicilia.

It was the Second World War, and he was now in Sicilia. Moreover, there could be a beautiful, lonely woman who was starving on the island, waiting for a capitalist’s offer of help... or not!

Wayne’s target was Sicilia, or more precisely, the island was one of the portals leading to his real destination.

The Life Alliance had had many ‘gods’. Some met their end, some went independent, leaving only three goddesses in the end: Nature’s Sovereign, Twilight Sun, and Pale Moon

The three goddesses safeguarded the legacy of the Life Alliance, coveting the knowledge but also fearing it. They agreed on keeping the insanity-inducing knowledge in the human world rather than any of their Divine Realms, and they each held a key that would take them to the ruins of the Life Alliance.

As the knowledge could be used to cultivate subordinate gods, the three goddesses had set up stages to test the candidates. They could acquire the knowledge, but not easily. If a subordinate was allowed easy access, not only would they grow complacent, but they might also lose their loyalty. On the contrary, someone who had acquired knowledge through their hard work would not only treasure it, but also feel grateful to their leader.

That applied to any workplace.

To enter the ruins, one would need to activate any of the altars of the three goddesses. They were each located in the Forest of the Core, the Island of Mysteries, and the City of the Sky, representing the land, ocean, and sky and symbolizing life’s omnipresence.

The Forest of the Core was the Goddess of Nature’s altar, the entrance of which was located in the depths of the land. The Island of Mysteries was the Goddess of Sun’s altar, its entrance sitting in the eye of the storm on the devilish sea, requiring one to traverse the vast ocean to get to it. The City of the Sky was the Goddess of Moonlight’s altar. To access it, one would have to find the old castle on the bluff in Sicilia and reach the Moon from there.

Siluk, the Goddess of Moonlight, had given Wayne the map of the city. He could go through the city to reach the true ruins of the Life Alliance.

Since he wasn’t a subordinate god, he didn’t have to think about how he was going to activate the altar. He could just enter as himself.

Speaking of which, Wayne had seen the City of the Sky before, even getting into a battle on the outskirts of it. It was during an elimination match of the Holy Maiden selection of the Church of Nature. The round took place on the Moon

It was Wayne’s last match before dropping out of the selection. The two opponents he had fought then were now his succubus secretaries.

He found his way to the castle on the bluff. Under the veil of night, the ocean waves clashed with the reefs, making thunderous rumbles. Standing on the cliff, he leaped into the air and passed through a layer of transparent light, getting transported straight to the Moon

Meanwhile, a few figures walked out of the Void into the Life Alliance’s ruins, Wayne’s destination.

“Solsknar, is your information reliable? Is there really knowledge that can change fate here?”

“Of course. I’ve paid a fortune to buy the information from the Listener. She’s the goddess’s subordinate, so She wouldn’t have lied... Believe me, the goddess’s knowledge is here. We’ll find what we want here.”

“Again, as long as I get something, you’ll all profit. You can’t go wrong with following me!”

1. The original is a play on with 无鸡之谈 and 鸡鸡歪歪. The actual idiom is 无稽之谈, meaning something absurd and far-fetched. The author replaced 稽 with 鸡, which means ‘chicken’. It’s also a euphemism for the male genitalia. 鸡鸡歪歪 is a play on 叽叽歪歪, which means being obnoxious and difficult. Once again, the author used 鸡 instead, and the idiom became a phrase that literally means ‘crooked cock’. The original line thus goes “Saying that he attracted demons is too far-fetched (a cockless story). Those with a difficult personality (crooked cock) wouldn’t believe it!” I tried to make up something that retained some of the imagery. ☜