Chapter 415 (2): New Version—Holy Maiden of Death Was Here First
“So that’s what happened. But...”
Wayne didn’t understand. If ‘he’ had been marked by Sukra and was destined to become the Death Knight, why did the original Wayne die?
If the original Wayne hadn’t died, Wayne would have to fight for ownership over the body rather than inheriting it without issue, completing the transmigration and starting a new life.
He had never given it much thought before, but he realized he should after hearing Sukra’s story.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes, a big problem...” Wayne pressed a hand to his heart. “To tell you the truth, I’ve died once. It was thanks to that death that I was reborn as a new man. After that, I acquired Shadow Nightmare.”
Hesione turned to Wayne with wide eyes like she was seeing something unbelievable, her heart thumping.
Sukra was at a loss, which was to be expected. He was bombarding her with random facts; it was only natural that she couldn't keep up with all the unpredictable turns.
“Lady Holy Maiden, I’ve made myself quite clear,” Wayne said with a scowl. “The energy you left caused my death. I only survived because I encountered the Astral Plane, thus gaining its power. Otherwise, I would be dead.”
Hesione looked at him like she was seeing a ghost.
“You—” Sukra had to take a moment to put aside her shock. She hurriedly asked, “Tell me, which significant figures of Death have you met? Aside from the Death Knight I mean.”
“He’s the Headless Knight!” Wayne corrected quietly, brows furrowed. “Aside from Rognes and you, I haven’t met anyone related to death—oh, there is one. I’ve received an invitation from the Misfortune Spider, Grau the Observer.”
“Grau...” Sukra murmured bitterly. “It’s my fault. Because of me, you died once... So they already know that you’re the new knight.”
“Lady Holy Maiden, it’s difficult to continue this conversation diplomatically if you won’t stop keeping secrets.” Wayne took a step forward, bringing his vitality field down to envelop Sukra. He raised his hand to immobilize her, looking down at her. “Tell me, what are you hiding?”
Sukra was shocked by his prowess. Even without using Shadow Nightmare, he could render her helpless.
“Don’t just open your mouth without saying anything!” Wayne urged.
“No, it’s too early to tell you...”
“Must I beat you up for you to speak the truth?” Wayne huffed. He was tired of this trope.
“Even if you reject me, I can’t tell you.” Sukra pointed at her eyes. “Leave Palis. You cannot meet Rognes now. I’ll rescue him, and once he’s safe, you can meet him.”
“What a coincidence. I came to Palis to save him from the demons.”
“Wayne, he warned you!”
“I wouldn’t have come if he hadn’t warned me!” Wayne closed his eyes. “Julia told me that her previous master was a virtuous man, and I’ve witnessed his virtues. He’s indeed a good knight with a strong sense of responsibility. Someone like him shouldn’t be subject to demons’ humiliation. I’ll unearth his head and let him take Shadow Nightmare so that he can pay back the demons with his own hands.”
Wayne had spoken ill of the Headless Knight before, but he had always respected the man. The Headless Knight’s composure as a victim of cuckolding had always impressed him. Putting himself in the man’s shoes, he found himself falling short—actually, he couldn’t even imagine himself in the Headless Knight’s shoes. He was too much of a warrior of true love.
“You’re remarkable. I haven’t chosen the wrong person!” Sukra said admiringly.
Are you boasting now? Wayne rolled his eyes.
“You’re here to save the Headless Knight, and so am I. I want to save him and banish the trespassing demons while I’m at it. We’re both followers of the goddess, so we can work together.”
“No!”
“...”
This woman is getting on my nerves.
“The Headless—” Sukra made a slip of the tongue under Wayne’s influence. She quickly corrected herself, “If Rognes sees you, he will attack you. I can’t risk letting Shadow Nightmare fall into his hands. I must rescue him alone.”
“Just you?” Wayne snorted, using the good old trick of provocation.
Sukra pointed at her own eyes. Though she might not be able to do it, the Goddess of Death’s divine power definitely could.
“Let me ask you something. The Headless Knight must not get Shadow Nightmare, you said?”
“Yes.”
“If you end up surrounded by demons and meeting your death before even finding the Headless Knight, what would be the point of coming to Palis?”
“...”
“Tell me. Why must the Headless Knight not get his hands on Shadow Nightmare?” Wayne grabbed Sukra’s shoulders, speaking with unwavering determination. “I’m the new chosen knight at the end of the day. I’m entitled to the secret.”
He wanted to bleed for the goddess and sacrifice for his faith. No one would stop him.
Sukra agonized over the matter. The strong hands on her shoulders seemed to lift a heavy weight off her. She sighed, “Wayne, you must have heard about the revolution in the Church of Death.”
Wayne nodded. “I have. The Church of Death has quite a following, greater than the Church of Darkness. However, they’re nothing but small fries, none of whom is of any use when it really matters. What does that have to do with this?”
“There’s a civil war in the Divine Realm of Death,” Sukra said, dropping a bombshell. “The three subordinate gods have betrayed the goddess. After the goddess sealed Herself, She is no longer reachable.”
“For real?” Wayne blurted out. “Are you sure the goddess hasn’t deceived the followers out of boredom?”
Hesione’s shocked expression matched Wayne’s.
“Why would She do that?” Sukra shot back. “Show some respect to your faith. No goddess would act like that!”
“One would...” Wayne murmured. The Goddess of Darkness was certainly capable of that. She spent all Her time tormenting Her lackeys.
“Because the goddess has become unreachable, the Divine Realm is now under the control of the three subordinate gods, and they are the ones behind the church’s revolution. Though I’m the Holy Maiden, I’ve been kicked out of the headquarters and have been avoiding the Pope’s pursuit ever since...”
Sukra smiled bitterly. “Perhaps I should call him Pontiff now.[1]”
Ever since the Church of Death underwent a revolution, and the Pope became the Pontiff, the Holy Maiden had lost her place. Because she had gone into hiding in a rush, the other churches didn’t know what had happened, still believing the Holy Maiden to be part of the Church of Death.
In reality, even the goddess had gone off radar. Of course the church would have no need for a Holy Maiden.
Wayne blinked. No wonder the Goddess of Death hadn’t done anything when the Headless Knight was in such a pickle. It turned out that She had gone into hiding.
“Wait!” He looked at Sukra. “The subordinate gods are demigods and pillars for the god to reaffirm their own power with. The three avatars couldn’t possibly betray the goddess. Even if they have the audacity to do it, they can’t. Have other gods gotten involved?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
As soon as he got an affirmative, Wayne thought of the one correct answer: Goddess of Nature. Nature had gone after Death!
“I don’t know which god it is, but I know that Hell was involved. The demons would only boldly imprison Rognes with the knowledge of the goddess’s situation.” Sukra’s face twisted with anger. “The three subordinate gods deceived Rognes with a false oracle, leading to him losing his head in Hell. Otherwise, the demons couldn’t even descend to the human world, much less defeat and control him.”
I knew Hell must be involved.
Wayne nodded to himself. It had taken three subordinate gods and the demon alliance to take down the Headless Knight, yet they still failed to completely restrain his thoughts, allowing Shadow Nightmare to run away...
The Headless Knight was still proving himself to be greater than he seemed!
“I understand now,” Wayne said slowly. “Because the three subordinate gods have rebelled, the Headless Knight must not meet me. Otherwise, he’ll acquire Shadow Nightmare, and the three subordinate gods will become even stronger, preventing you from rescuing the goddess.”
“How do you know I’m doing that?” Sukra asked in surprise.
Hesione huffed out derisively. For all the man’s shortcomings, intelligence isn’t one of them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to deceive so many girls.
“It’s not difficult to guess.” Wayne extended a finger. “First, the three subordinate gods couldn’t have sent the Headless Knight to Hell to give his power to the demons. Or perhaps they have been frantically looking for the new knight after Shadow Nightmare went missing, which is why they haven’t been paying attention to the Headless Knight.”
“Because the goddess wakes up every now and then or perhaps because of something else, they have too many things on their plate. In the Chosen Land, on the other hand, you’ve been troubling the church. The Pope—the Pontiff of Death thus is unable to execute the three subordinate gods’ oracles. That’s why no one has sought me out...”
“That means the goddess must be alive, in Her Divine Realm. She has been waking up temporarily to keep the subordinate gods busy.”
“To save the goddess, it’s imperative that the Headless Knight be rescued first. He’s so powerful that he can face the subordinate gods. Only by liberating him can you step into the Divine Realm.”
Wayne completed his analysis with a conclusion, “The prerequisites to saving the goddess are to save the Headless Knight and ensure his autonomy before handing him Shadow Nightmare, right?”
Sukra nodded. That was the plan. She had done a good job picking a shrewd, intelligent successor. Wayne was clearly smarter than Rognes.
But then she realized what was wrong. Wayne’s hands had tightened on her shoulders. She hurriedly said, “You’re not a sacrifice. You’ll be the next Death Knight. I never intend for you to—”
“No explanation needed,” Wayne declared impassionedly, swinging his arm to emphasize his point. “It’s just Shadow Nightmare. Why would I not return it to the Headless Knight? Don’t underestimate my chivalrous spirit!”
Sukra was moved and happy for the goddess. Both Her knights were paragons of virtue who only appeared once in an eon. They would win this!
Wayne pulled Sukra into his arms and lowered his head to murmur to her, “You’ve had it hard all these years, running away from your pursuers. You haven’t had a good night’s sleep for a long time, have you?”
That struck a chord in Sukra’s heart. With a trusty companion by her side, she finally took off her mask. She just wanted to vent all the negative emotions she had been bottling up.
(눈‸눈)
How shameless! Hesione groused.
“You must be tired. Just rest and leave everything else to me,” Wayne murmured into Sukra’s ear, revealing his true intention. “However, my power is insufficient when facing someone as powerful as the Headless Knight. I fear that accidents may happen. How about... you teach me your divine arts?”
1. The raw differentiate between 教皇 (jiao-huang) and 教宗 (jiao-zong), but they’re both translated terms for ‘Pope’. 皇 (huang) is the same character for ‘emperor’, and it’s more commonly used in the past. Now, 教宗 is more common, with 宗 meaning source/sect. I didn’t notice, but with the Church of Heavenly Father, the author has been using 教皇 to differentiate him from the other popes. The Church of Death has been said to base its new framework after that of the Church of Heavenly Father. ☜
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