Myths Reawakened

“Don’t be scared. Without his head, he isn’t as powerful as he used to be. If we all attack together, he might not be able to kill all of us.”

“Well said, but why are you standing behind me?”

The battlefield fell into chaos. There were more than ten of them on the demons’ side, but they ended up surrounded by one Death Knight, running around to flee from him. From a short distance, the three Holy Maidens who had set out early but arrived late panicked when they saw the sudden turn of events.

“Why is the Headless Knight here?” Corte asked stiffly. “Could it be...”

“Impossible!” Galen snapped. “Someone as powerful as Wayne won’t lose to Rognes!”

“But Rognes is the strongest chosen knight...” Sukra said bitterly. Shadow Nightmare ended up in Rognes’s possession, while Wayne was nowhere to be seen. He had most likely been killed in action.

Damn it, how did things turn out like this? she thought with rage and despair. Years of her effort had gone down the drain so swiftly. She couldn’t see a future. All she wanted to do now was to go all in.

If she succeeded, she succeeded. If not, she would die trying!

Sukra untied her bandages and opened her right eye, staring at the Big Three, who held the keys. She unleashed all the power stored in her eye.

Creak!!

The gate to the Underworld, consisting of skeletons and rusty metal, slowly opened behind the Big Three. Three pairs of skeletal arms reached out to grasp them. Opening the door, banishing them, and closing the door—the entire process was completed with no delay.

She was relieved to take out the most difficult enemies with ease, but then an overpowering exhaustion swept over her. When the thoughts of the Goddess of Death still resided in her eye, she was able to use the ultimate move at will, suffering no side effects save for draining her mana. Now, it was different. The goddess’s thoughts had transferred to Wayne. If she continued to use the move without reservation, her eye really might bleed from overuse.

Click!

Once the doorway vanished, the Big Three stepped out of the spatial rift, proving Sukra’s surprise attack a complete failure. Total despair drained her face of color. Sensing the Big Three’s malevolent gazes, Corte and Galen stiffened with tension. They used their divine arts for one last resistance.

“Calm down, we aren’t the three demon lords’ match. You two go ahead. I’ll buy time for you...” Sukra said quickly. “Go back. Wayne must have run into trouble. You two should go help him.”

Then won’t you die for sure? x2

Corte and Galen’s eyes widened. The prejudices they had developed for Sukra in the short time after they met were corrected, and their goodwill for her grew. Since they were pressed for time, Galen used healing magic on Sukra without delay before grabbing Corte’s wrist for a quick retreat.

As Sukra had said, the Big Three were too powerful. Not even summoning the goddesses with their divine arts to fight in their stead would be good enough. Rather than staying and making a meaningless sacrifice, it was better to go save Wayne. They might be quick enough to return and save Sukra.

Sukra took a step forward to block her two rapidly retreating companions. She knew that if Rognes had acquired Shadow Nightmare, it would mean that Wayne was dead. The two Holy Maidens would find nothing.

Death’s bad blood needn’t involve the other churches. Sukra had no future, but Corte and Galen did. Helping them survive would be in line with the doctrine of respecting life.

“Death’s power. So you’re the one who’s been stirring up trouble in the catacombs...” Mattea clutched her key, her purple lips curling up. “Death Knight, kill her!”

A dim portal opened. The Death Knight, who had been slaughtering the demons, abandoned them to come up to Sukra. His blade thrust through Sukra’s chest, leaving a cold trail in the air. Then he raised the sword to lift her off her feet.

Sukra’s pupils contracted. Overwhelming Death energy instantly filled her body. Sensing that both her eyes had been recharged, she couldn’t help but open her mouth wide.

“Huh? Oh! Ah...”

Before she could finish saying anything, the Death Knight tossed her aside like a tattered rag, wiping off blood that didn’t really exist on the blade.

Shadow Nightmare was always good at killing without drawing blood.

Covered in Death energy, Sukra landed and rolled away, her eyes dimming. As her head drooped, she lost all vital signs.

As expected of the Holy Maiden of Death, she was a professional at faking death.

“How dull!” Mattea shook her head. Sukra was ready for death, so she didn’t even struggle when facing her end. The Death Knight had also made the kill without a word, depriving her of a tragic parting scene.

That was boring!

The demons halted, throwing angry glances at the Big Three, but not daring to say anything.

So you’re the only ones who could make the Death Knight listen! xN

The Big Three considered themselves more important than they were, and their gazes were beyond infuriating. Mattea pointed at the defensive formation formed by the Thrones and commanded, “Death Knight, kill them all.”

She gestured at such a large range. Who knew if she was pointing at the angels or her fellow demons? Well, the demons knew. They cursed and fled in different directions.

A dark portal opened before the undead warhorse stepped in. The next second, another portal opened behind Mattea. A ruthless, cold sword light extended from her head to her groin.

It bisected her!

As soon as a line of blood burst out of her face, it was corroded to ashes by thick Death energy. Her eyes were still shining with disbelief when her body toppled sideways in two parts.

Who am I? Where am I? Is this key in my hand fake?

The Death Knight had broken out of control and attacked one of his masters. Stolas and Enguema, who were closest to Mattea, both lost their calm. Stolas tried to escape, while it was already too late for Enguema. Growling, he transformed into a half-dragon to face the incoming Shadow Nightmare, all the while ordering the Death Knight not to attack.

Whoosh!

A streak of white light sliced off Enguema’s mutated arm. The white skull he had been holding hit the ground and rolled twice with bright clinking noises.

He cried out in pain as he retreated. Using his thoughts to regenerate his arm, he tightened his grip around a crimson greataxe instead of immediately grabbing for the skull. He cautiously retreated to Stolas’s side.

Meanwhile, the Death Knight picked up the fallen skull with a wave and placed it on his own empty neck.

“Kekekeke—”

Black empty sockets glinted with white light. The Death Knight laughed with no reservation, commanding his mount to stomp and pin Mattea’s bisected body to the ground.

Another flash of white light flickered, severing her arms. Mattea screamed in agony. As the Death Knight caught her delicate hands, Death energy enveloped the limbs and disintegrated them into bones and ashes. The knight then picked up the skull she had been holding and placed it on his neck.

The two skulls gradually merged. The white orbs flickering in its empty eye sockets became blazing white flames.

Among the three keys, two had returned to the knight.

“How is this happening? What’s going on?”

Stolas held the last key. Unable to accept reality, he tried once more and confirmed that the key was real, that the Death Knight should still be listening to his orders.

But reality suggested differently. The Death Knight would not do as he commanded.

“A good official always chooses the master to kill.[1] Just for your trust in me, who’s going to Hell if not you?”

The Death Knight’s jawbones moved up and down as he spoke and laughed out loud. “I can betray the goddess. Then I can betray you. There’s nothing strange about that. I, the Headless Knight, am a vile character with no faith.”

While speaking, he continued to torment Mattea, who was pinned down by his mount. Every time he swung his sword, her body further broke into pieces.

He wasn’t exactly trying to torture her. It was just that the Big Three were so stubbornly alive that they could continue to resist death while staring it in the eyes.

Mattea wanted to go. The humiliation made her not want to stay a moment longer. She disintegrated her own thoughts and morphed into black mist before rushing straight toward the Gate of Hell.

The process should’ve been much simpler, but with the modification the Lord of Envy had done to the gate, this became the only way for Mattea’s thoughts to return to Hell.

“Beautiful lady, why are you in such a rush? Why don’t you stay for some fun?”

Grey tentacles reached toward her, violently taking the black mist apart, humiliating and decimating her thoughts with no reservation.

Even a pushover had a temper, let alone Mattea, who ruled over her own territory in Hell. The Spider Queen considered herself a sovereign and refused to let the Death Knight toy with her with tentacles. She unleashed her volatile Seven Deadly Sins to make a heavy strike at the Death Knight before departure.

Nom.

The Death Knight was Wayne. His method of dealing with demons had always been straightforward. Going undercover! Infiltrating!

Wayne didn’t really need his head to start with. Once he put on his Death Knight’s disguise, he could take off his skull without consequences. Pretending to be Rognes, he had ‘killed’ Sukra to lower the Big Three’s guard before sneaking up on them, successfully securing two of the keys.

The plan went smoothly.

It would be perfect if Stolas hadn’t been so cautious that he ran away as soon as he saw the warning signs, preventing him from securing the third key.

“You... aren’t the Death Knight.” Stolas frowned deeply. “You’re Wayne, Londan’s Death Knight, aren’t you?”

“You saw through me when I’ve hidden myself so well,” Wayne said sarcastically. “It seems that you’re a demon with a brain.”

You hide nothing and have been speaking like a real demon. The Death Knight wouldn’t stoop this low!

Stolas clutched the last key. “You’ve admitted it so easily. Why didn’t you keep acting to take this head from me?”

“That won’t be necessary. Now that I have two keys, I am the Headless Knight’s master!” Wayne laughed out loud. “You misunderstood, Demon. I didn’t come to save the Headless Knight out of the goodness of my heart. I just found it a waste for someone as powerful as he is to serve you as a watchdog. It’d be more appropriate for him to serve me.”

He was right. If the Headless Knight were a company, Wayne now held a bigger share and the ultimate command.

“...”

Impressive. Aren’t you more like demons than we are? x2

Stolas strongly suspected that demonic blood flowed in Wayne’s body. A regular man wouldn’t be able to even recite such lines off a script so convincingly.

It didn’t seem like he was acting!

Clang! Clang!

Clinking footsteps rang as Rognes the Headless Knight emerged with a greatsword of Death energy. He received two orders, one from Wayne and the other from Stolas.

Rognes chose Wayne’s order without hesitation. His headless body charged at the demons while swinging his sword, decapitating them and making them cry out for help.

The demons, unwilling to stay and sacrifice their thoughts for no good reason, rushed straight to the Gate of Hell. The Headless Knight didn’t give chase. Instead, he joined Wayne in taking on Stolas and Enguema.

Sukra was still pretending to be dead on the ground, like a professional actress. She wouldn’t move until the director said ‘cut’.

Through narrowed eyes, she watched Rognes and Wayne fight. The two Death Knights provided her with a great sense of security. She wanted nothing more than to stay on the ground.

The three Thrones broke out of their defensive formations, chasing after the demons without delay. They intercepted the slowest demon first, swarming the demon while the demon called for help. It was the tactic that the legions of angels were most adept at.

Usually, angels referred to the strategy as heavenly justice, sacred judgment, or the verdict of the Holy Light, emphasizing their righteousness to align with Heaven’s positive image.

Since the demons were at a disadvantage, they were thinking of nothing but their escape. While they had the advantage in number and power, they never once turned around, allowing the three Thrones to overpower them.

Others would’ve thought that the three were Seraphim!

“Now it’s two on two. Fair.”

Wayne sent Shadow Nightmare spinning through the air. Stolas and Enguema, unwilling to even make contact with the energy, chose to evade.

Behind them, Rognes caught Shadow Nightmare.

The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, he heard what should be his heartbeat stutter.

“Headless Knight, I order you to kill them in the name of the Death Knight.” Wayne poked at the skull attached to his neck.

“I’m not the Headless Knight!” Rognes corrected. He smoothed his hand over Shadow Nightmare gently, as if he were stroking Julia.

“Old friend, it’s been a long time. Today, follow me to war...”

“And wash away our past humiliation!”

1. The original saying is ‘A good official chooses the right master to serve.’ ☜