Myths Reawakened

Chapter 377 (2): Headquarters of Church of Darkness

“Mr. Wayne, welcome. His Holiness has organized a welcoming banquet at the headquarters. We hope that you’ll find this trip fulfilling.”

In the back of the luxury black sedan, Varvara smiled at Wayne. Nothing about him stood out to her, and he was young. This was completely different from what she had expected.

So where did Ivan’s fear come from?

“Miss Varvara, is there something on my face?”

“Apologies for the offense. I simply didn’t expect you to be this handsome.”

Wayne made a face. What kind of terrible line was that? Was Varvara an escort, or an escort?

That couldn’t be it. The Church of Darkness was legitimate. Disregarding the Goddess of Darkness, both the Pope and the Holy Maiden were people of strong moral character. With them leading by example, the members couldn’t be like those from the Church of Nature.

Moreover, Varvara was a legendary mage, which alone should deter her from pursuing the alternative way of escorting.

Realizing her social faux pas, Varvara got herself together and politely expressed the Church of Darkness’s warm welcome and Pope Ivan’s enthusiasm.

Wayne responded to the pleasantries with his own. After a few exchanges, he said, “Miss Varvara, how much do you know about the Holy Maiden of your church?”

“Why do you ask, Mr. Wayne?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m a member of the Lando family, from Londan, Windsor. My humble father, Auston, is quite influential in the country.”

The Lando family!

Varvara’s eyes glinted. Her smile remained unchanging as she said, “I didn’t recognize you, Your Highness. It seems that I haven’t done my research well enough. I apologize for any offense I might have caused. The Church of Darkness will readjust the scale of our reception.”

“Oh, no. I’m not a prince, and Windsor only has a Queen.”

Really? But I heard that the Queen has become your father’s lover, and that he usually resides in Buckingham Palace, making quite the ruckus with her.

Seeing the burning curiosity in her eyes, Wayne realized that she was a drama lover starving for gossip. He cleared his throat, stopping the topic from veering off track. “I have the honor of meeting your Holy Maiden a few times in Londan. She is a woman of few words and focuses entirely on getting the work done. She’s a dutiful Holy Maiden with a strong sense of responsibility.”

“That is the kind of person Lady Holy Maiden is,” Varvara said with a nod.

She looked proud. She had received Anastasia’s teachings when she was young and was impressed by how well-learned the Holy Maiden was. She admired Anastasia greatly.

Anastasia becoming the Holy Maiden felt natural to everyone. None suspected nepotism just because she was the Pope’s daughter.

“I know little about the Holy Maiden. She’s worked with the Lando family and established a base of your esteemed church in Londan, which I wholeheartedly embrace. However, I can’t tell what she’s thinking. Would you mind sharing some insights with me, Miss Varvara?”

Wayne’s attempt to extract information failed. It seemed that he had pushed the wrong button, leading to Varvara singing Anastasia’s praises nonstop like a fanatic fangirl. Was Varvara an unqualified diplomat? But she hadn’t revealed anything about Anastasia or the Church of Darkness’s intention in Londan. Was she a good diplomat? But she talked too much, all of it empty words.

As soon as she got started, she wouldn’t stop. Wayne kept rolling his eyes until Varvara stopped ranting upon arrival at the headquarters.

This was Wayne’s first visit to the Church of Darkness, so he didn’t yet know what to expect. Otherwise, he would’ve just asked where Anastasia was.

***

Headquarters of the Church of Darkness.

Just like the Church of Nature, the Church of Darkness’s headquarters was located in a vast, isolated space, with its entrance connected to the Chosen Land. Wayne speculated that this was also a Philosopher’s Stone.

Good. When he met Ivan, he would borrow the stone in the goddess’s name and return it after he was done with it. It would be ninety percent new, he promised.

The space was filled with never-ending mountain ranges, representing the demigod’s interpretation of nature. The forests and mountains were the physical manifestations, while the inner truth would require the Pope’s interpretation.

Similarly, the Church of Darkness’s headquarters would be closely connected to darkness, like the polar night in the Frozen Land.

As Wayne had expected, the Church of Darkness’s headquarters were shrouded in darkness. Night fell. The last ray of sunlight had already faded, but the moon hadn’t risen above the horizon yet, leaving the place enveloped in a thick darkness. Or perhaps the darkness had driven away the sunlight and moonlight.

It was such a pointed rebuttal that followers of the Sun and Moonlight would surely fly into a rage when they stepped in.

The infinite black veil shrouded the calm, silent sea. There was no wind. A broad, hovering stone bridge started from the entrance and led to the isolated island in the middle of the lifeless sea. There stood the headquarters of the Church of Darkness.

The stone bridge stretched far. From a distance, the island was nothing but a blurry shadow, like a massive black hole that had blended with the surrounding silence, warning every visitor stepping onto the bridge that they would be devoured by the darkness.

Varvara didn’t lead Wayne through the bridge entirely. After a little over a hundred meters of guided tour with her introducing the scenery to him, she led him to a portal, and the next moment, they were already at the end of the bridge.

Wayne looked down. The abyss, over ten kilometers in diameter, continued to devour the seawater around it, while the lone island hovered quietly above the abyss. There were no rumbling currents. The black seawater simply fell right into the darkness without any splashes. Every person standing on the bridge would feel the urge to jump. The fleeting thought was chilling, representing—

Wayne was too lazy to make up more. He wanted Varvara to either show him the Pope or the Holy Maiden already. He wanted to ask someone he knew what the hell was going on.

The delegation continued forward, stepping onto the hovering island. Unlike what the darkness outside would suggest, past the warding barrier, two orbs of light became visible on two sides of the sky. The golden one represented the sun, and the white one represented the moon.

That he understood. This meant that the Darkness contained both Sun and Moonlight. It was the truth of the universe and the greatness of Darkness. Sun and Moonlight followers would feel their blood pressure rise again.

He didn’t say much when Varvara pontificated about the doctrines of Darkness, simply humoring her with grunts. He turned to the island shrouded in light. The thriving forests were divided by rivers. The chorus of birdsong and insect chirps was occasionally joined by beastly roars. This was no different from the natural landscape found in the outside world.

A tall, dignified structure that was entirely black sat within the forest. The style felt heavy, but not gloomy. Occasionally, there would be pulsing light coming from magic circles, the black differing in shades.

It was nice, much nicer than the Frozen Land.

Anastasia was a second-generation rich from a good background, growing up with abundance rather than in poverty, as Senna had said. The fact that Anastasia had developed a noble character rather than the bad habit of taking the easy way out and slacking off made her miles better than the Goddess of Darkness. She was truly extraordinary.

Wayne nodded in approval. His white moonlight had become brighter in his mind.

The delegation followed the stone stairs up, encountering a good number of dark-skinned elves. The men and women were all tall and long-legged, dressed in black robes.

Unlike members of the Church of Nature, members of the Church of Darkness preferred staying in elven forms.

They stopped every few steps for Varvara to introduce the famous landmarks of the church, including a tree that a certain pope had planted, an estate that had been a legendary mage’s residence, and a river where the Holy Maiden of Darkness had bathed herself.

Well, not the last one. Wayne had made it up because he was bored out of his mind.

Varvara was well-mannered and friendly, so he couldn’t urge her along no matter how much he wanted to. He represented the Church of Nature. An official meeting like this would require a basic level of etiquette.

Two hours later, Wayne finally met one of his targets of this trip, Ivan, the Pope of the Church of Darkness.

Varvara was no longer attractive to Wayne by then. The old lady talked so much that every time she opened her mouth, she gave him a headache. Anastasia, by contrast, made him feel good every time she opened her mouth.

“Your Holiness.” Wayne went up and bowed to Ivan. “It’s a great honor to meet you. Your reputation precedes you.”

The Life Alliance and the alliance of Darkness and Death were rivals, but that was only on the surface. The churches had never completely severed their ties. The chosen knights, for example, had a good relationship and had been working together on the same missions.

“Mr. Wayne, it’s an honor to meet you.”

For their first meeting, Ivan greeted Wayne with the aloof dignity of the Pope.

Since this was their first time meeting each other—yes, they definitely hadn’t met before—they exchanged pleasantries as was tradition. Then, Ivan introduced the important figures around him. All of them were Oracle High Reverends like Varvara.

Wayne counted. Provided that the Oracle High Reverends were made equal, the Church of Darkness had six, making them greater than the Church of Nature.

“You look quite young, Mr. Wayne. Forgive my bluntness, but are you really a legendary mage?”

A discordant voice came from the crowd. Wayne turned around and saw a handsome man appearing in his middle age, in dark elf form. According to Ivan, he was Oracle High Reverend Anton.

He stared at Wayne tauntingly. He didn’t know Wayne, and there was no bad blood between them. He provoked Wayne because he was a disciple of the Goddess of Darkness, while Wayne was a disciple of the Goddess of Nature. That was all.

“Anton, you’ve crossed a line,” Ivan snapped. “Mr. Wayne is a guest. You’re humiliating the church.”

His heart was thumping. Even he would have to call Wayne brother, much less Anton. The pretty boy wasn’t just a disciple of the Goddess of Nature.

However, Ivan couldn’t explain the issue in detail. He could only stare at Anton, telling him to shut up and dismiss himself.

Ivan’s attitude confused Anton. He looked at the Pope in confusion. Your Holiness, usually, this is the time to arrange a friendly sparring session between two Oracle High Reverends, and the host, us, will win by a small margin. Are we not following SOP today?

SOP your ass! Ivan despaired. I couldn’t even say anything when this guy was messing around with my daughter. If you want to start trouble, do it yourself. Don’t drag the church down with you.

Wayne smiled. “I don’t mind. Mr. Anton is the straightforward sort. I’d like to learn more about Darkness magic from him.”

(눈‸눈)

All the words Ivan couldn’t say translate into a sympathetic yell:

“An—ton—”