Myths Reawakened

Chapter 382 (1): Avatars of Darkness: Listener, Avenger, Devourer

Ivan looked at Vichy anxiously, a bead of cold sweat streaking down from his forehead. His back was already drenched.

Though he had no evidence, he had a feeling that he was staring right at his faith, that the goddess had descended to the human world through former Darkness Knight Vichy rather than the Holy Maiden.

Had she chosen a different body for Her boy toy?

It was such a sacrilegious thought that Ivan prayed he had jumped to the wrong conclusion because his mind was in the gutter. While the goddess had a boy toy and had been ready to kill Ivan to silence him, he knew that She was still a good goddess.

Yes, that has to be it!

Ivan took a deep breath and turned to Anastasia inquisitively, hoping that his daughter would deny his unreasonable speculation. Vichy was Vichy, not the goddess.

Sensing his gaze, Anastasia smothered a sigh. She had wanted to keep her father from knowing too much, but he figured it out on his own. There was no point in hiding it then. She didn’t want to keep him in the dark and risk more accidents, which would be another mess Wayne had to clean up.

She nodded. This was the Goddess of Darkness, so Ivan should stay quiet and refrain from speaking unless absolutely necessary. It would be best if he just played dumb.

Damn it, the goddess has changed Her body to make Her boy toy happy!

Ivan held a hand to his chest. His faith had been lowering Her bottom line further and further down; he didn’t know how much longer he could take this, but he knew that he would never be as devoted as he had been. He shouldn’t have asked. Why hadn’t he just played dumb?

The father and daughter exchanged a look. One of them was overthinking, and the other was underthinking. As a result, the misunderstanding left the Pope deeply troubled.

The Law of Conservation dictated that a smile didn’t disappear, only shifted. Case in point, Ivan’s smile had shifted to Wayne’s face. He looked at the panicked Kane with confidence.

Look at those triangular eyes and sloped eyebrows. Don’t tell me you’re not a villain!

When he heard Kane swear to tear the imposter of the Goddess of Darkness to pieces, Wayne smiled even wider. A villain who brought about his own death was a qualified villain. He believed his job here was done. The Goddess of Darkness had a small, petty heart in Her large bosom. The fact that Kane had threatened to tear Her to pieces meant that he would end up in pieces today.

Meanwhile, Kane was still snarling, “Blasphemer, you’ve committed a deadly sin by claiming to be the goddess. Moreover... you’re pretending to be Darkness Knight Vichy. Take off your mask and show us who you are!”

He was certain that this woman wasn’t actually Vichy. For the sake of justice, he addressed the crowd, “As you see, the Pope and the Holy Maiden have betrayed the goddess together. The Darkness Knight must be an imposter. Two chosen knights cannot co-exist in the human world. What are you waiting for when the church’s survival is on the line?”

They exchanged glances, hesitant. Kane made a lot of sense. The facts did seem self-evident, and they couldn’t deny his conclusion. However...

They didn’t want to believe that the Pope and the Holy Maiden would betray their faith, especially not the Holy Maiden. Based on what had happened, they suspected that the acting pope of the Church of Nature, Senna, was the mastermind.

Senna: ???

It was common knowledge that Senna and Anastasia were rivals of the same generation and had been competing openly and secretly for over a hundred years. Every time Senna tried to pick a fight with Anastasia, she lost, so she opted for an underhanded scheme instead.

Anastasia had gone missing from the headquarters for close to twenty years on an alleged secret mission. When she showed up again, she was critically injured and severely weakened.

The next time she made an appearance was now, standing on the side of the Church of Nature’s envoy, along with the Pope. The daughter cited a false oracle to take down the Great Sage, while the other had given away the church’s Philosopher’s Stone.

There was also an imposter pretending to be Darkness Knight Vichy, a blasphemer who had shown great disrespect to the goddess.

At this point, it was quite obvious what the truth was.

Senna had critically injured Anastasia and had Wayne control her. Coming to the headquarters of the Church of Darkness under the guise of a delegation, Wayne coerced Ivan into handing over the Philosopher’s Stone, which Ivan reluctantly did with his daughter held hostage.

Both the Pope and the Holy Maiden were under control. The Great Sage was all that was left between the Church of Darkness and a future where everyone fell under the Church of Nature’s control. If Senna could achieve such a great feat not long after she entered office, she would surely become the most renowned pope in the Church of Nature’s history.

Yes, that had to be the truth. It checked all the boxes for the Church of Darkness’s stereotypes about the Church of Nature.

Senna would be exasperated if she could hear their thoughts.

They completed the story with their overimaginative brains. So deeply had Anastasia established her image that they would rather believe the Pope had betrayed the church than that the Holy Maiden would turn away from her faith.

Once again, the Holy Maiden was pure, and they would not tolerate any defamation attempt.

“How interesting!” Ines took in their reactions, pondering if she should reveal the truth that Anastasia had lost her purity.

Your Holy Maiden has not only betrayed her faith, but also opened her body and thoughts to her new faith, becoming the stereotypical Holy Maiden with a secret lewd side. She has long gotten used to the company of a man.

Their expressions would be thoroughly entertaining when they learned the truth. Ines nodded to herself, approving of her own plan.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t carry it out. She favored Anastasia, too. The Holy Maiden had excellent talent and character. If Wayne hadn’t corrupted her, Ines would’ve led her to the Divine Realm of Darkness to mold her personally.

After enjoying the show for a moment, Ines started the finishing move. She interrupted Kane’s spiel with a wave of her hand, drawing a black greatsword from the Void—Twilight Despair.

Black light spilled out and turned into an ink-black armor on Ines. The overwhelming energy of Darkness made everyone’s mouth dry. They gulped in shock.

The truth was laid bare before them. They were facing the real Darkness Knight Vichy. She couldn’t be an imposter.

“Lady Knight!”

Everyone hurriedly bowed down to her. Among them, Ivan had bent his back the furthest until his body formed a right angle, his upper body parallel to the ground.

Seeing the Twilight Despair further compounded the higher-ups’ confusion. Why would there be two chosen knights? Shouldn’t it be an exclusive role? What was going on? Had the Darkness Knight been under the Church of Nature’s control as well? How could Wayne possibly control both their Holy Maiden and chosen knight? Was he the Nature Knight?

They could no longer make sense of the situation. Kane was also so shocked that he stammered, “Impossible. You... Lady Vichy... Impossible!”

“Great Sage, are you going to talk your way out of this?” Wayne took a step forward and sneered. “The victim is right here. You killed the Darkness Knight and tried to revive the God of Storm and Thunder. What is your goal?”

The council hall erupted into another shocked chattering. The group exchanged glances, heads ringing from the twists and turns of the unfolding story.

“Impossible. She cannot be Lady Vichy. There can be no two chosen knights at the same time,” Kane snapped, pointing his fingers like a blade. “Even if she were Vichy, the goddess wouldn’t have sent a member of the Church of Nature to investigate the Church of Darkness. You must have controlled the two of them with magic and relayed a false oracle.”

“Why couldn’t I be Vichy?” Ines smiled, turning to Wayne. “He seems to know a lot. This isn’t a good place for the conversation. Messenger of the goddess, shall we take him to another place for the interrogation?”

The truth was right within reach, and Wayne couldn’t wait to reach it. He clutched the Philosopher’s Stone. He, Ines, and Kane immediately vanished from the council hall.

“Lady Holy Maiden, what is going on? Is that really the goddess’s oracle?” The group went up to Anastasia.

She nodded. “It is the goddess’s oracle. She told me to invite Mr. Wayne to look into the Great Sage at the headquarters, having His Holiness play along. This is a sensitive matter, so you should stay out of it.”

“But...”

“Why didn’t the goddess let us conduct the investigation ourselves? Wayne is an outsider...”

They felt lost. While blaming their own incompetence, they couldn’t help but panic over the abandonment. Reading their thoughts, Anastasia assured them, “No one says that Mr. Wayne is an outsider. He often listens to the goddess’s oracles. That’s all I’d say. Do not ask questions and do not let the secret leave this room.”

So he’s a spy!

They came to a realization, coming up with another ‘truth’ by drawing the target after shooting the arrow.

***

Great Sage Basilica.

The Great Sage’s basilica was quite far from the council hall, standing in the shadow of the back of the mountain. It looked quaint and dignified with esoteric sigils etched into the walls. Black light pulsed intermittently, and the sigils roamed, creating an ancient, mysterious image.

Inside, black patterns could be faintly made out, seemingly assimilated with the omnipresent darkness. The crystal ball at the top of the basilica was the only source of light illuminating the eerie space.

By the pillars, a path lined with statues standing in silent vigil led to the far end of the basilica. They were the previous Great Sages and mages who had made outstanding contributions to the Great Sage Basilica. Like subordinates or servants, they quietly awaited their master’s summons.

Unlike the Holy Maiden or the chosen knight, the Great Sage mainly served the subordinate gods.

The Goddess of Darkness had two avatars for the different aspects of Darkness: the Listener and the Avenger.

At the end of the path was the Goddess of Darkness’s robed figure, standing against the towering wall. Her figure was obscured by the black robe, which hung down and melted into an infinite darkness. By Her sides were the statues of Her two subordinate gods, both portrayed as black-robed, humanoid figures. They were the primary subjects of the Great Sage’s tribute.

They stood tall and magnificent with blurred, mysterious faces as if their appearances were covered by Darkness. Their eyes were deep and dark like black holes, devouring all light around. With their hands clasped, they offered Master Darkness their most sincere blessings.

An intangible wind hummed in a low, lingering sound, carrying an indescribable energy of Darkness. The song echoed in shadows like an ancient spell, instilling in the worshippers an instinctual fear and awe that prevented them from starting trouble.

Usually, the oracles that the Great Sage relayed came from the Listener. The Avenger either stayed silent or talked about wars.

The Goddess of Nature was served by the Oracle, the Goddess of Death by the Observer, and the Goddess of Darkness by the Listener. The three subordinate gods differed little in their duty.

Also, Nature and Death each had three subordinate gods, while Darkness, Sun, and Moonlight only had two.

“Huh? Why are we here?”

Three figures appeared in a corridor in the basilica. Wayne looked at the Philosopher’s Stone in his hand with confusion. He had wanted to take them away from the church’s headquarters to gang up on Great Sage Kane in a remote forest, interrogating his body before interrogating his thoughts. After a hundred and eight interrogation tricks, they would surely get to the bottom of the matter.

When he opened his eyes, though, he found himself in the Great Sage Basilica.

He guessed the reason immediately. Frowning, he asked, “This is where the truth is, isn’t it?”

“I would ask you the same question. Why are we here? Isn’t the forest a better choice? There aren’t any unwanted eyes there, and you could take care of me after taking care of the Great Sage.” Ines put on a frosty, disgusted look. “Don’t celebrate just yet. I’m not the kind of woman who folds easily. I’ll resist.”

Wayne rolled his eyes. “Correction, I’m not the kind of man who gets off on resistance.”

“Really? Then should I not resist?”

“...”