Chapter 126: Too Quickly
Wayne was flabbergasted by Mona’s action. He confirmed it wasn’t a hallucination. If he wasn’t the problem, then Mona had to be it. Had she fallen?
No, it couldn’t have happened that fast. If clergy members were so easy to corrupt, demons would laugh themselves awake, and they would simply gaslight clergy members into helping them to descend.
Mona’s dramatic change from initial defiance to actively sitting on his lap had to mean that she was confident about something. He guessed that her superior had explained the situation and told her that he was a good guy; that was why...
Wait, that wasn’t right, either. Good guys would be exploited; only villains would get to enjoy honey traps. He touched his mask. He guessed that the church's higher-ups had assigned Mona the mission to confirm whether he was on the good side or the evil side.
Fine. So that’s how you want to play it!
He glanced at Mona. He knew her predicament, so he wouldn’t make things difficult for her. He would make sure to neither take initiative nor reject her, letting her complete her mission. However, he had to be clear upfront: he wouldn’t take responsibility, so she better not go too far.
He reached out to touch her stockinged legs. Her body stiffened. After about two minutes, the stockings were getting snags, yet neither of them made the next move.
They awkwardly waited for the other to take the initiative.
After a moment, Wayne got nothing he was waiting for, so he stood up and tossed Mona aside, saying without mercy, “You’re too heavy. Your third mission: come pleasure me once you’ve lost your weight to around a hundred and ten pounds.”
He straightened his coat and strode away. “Remember, you must prepare every material necessary for the alchemy circle. Do not miss anything. Tomorrow at this time, bring everything and come with me to base number three.”
***
“Base number three, he said?”
At Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Gunther flipped through the alchemy book with a frown. “Where are number one and number two?”
Mona didn’t know, so after relaying Wayne’s words verbatim, she asked, “Are we really going to prepare the materials for him, Archbishop?”
What else? If you don’t give him the materials, how are we going to find the exact locations of the portals?
Gunther continued browsing the book for more clues. After a moment, he noticed something and said to Mona, “You may go. Rest in the cathedral tonight. I’ll prepare the materials as soon as possible. Deliver them to him. Do not miss anything.”
Archbishop, you were speaking just like the devil! Do you know each other?
Mona grew even more confused, wondering if Bruce was actually an undercover agent the church had planted in the hell faction, and that he had lured her to the demon worshippers’ den that night to gain the demon’s trust, leveraging her identity.
It was likely. Bruce had used the excuse of not wanting to share her to get her out of the group of perverts entirely unharmed, and all he did to her was touch her bottom and legs. He had also delivered information to the Archbishop through her.
So Bruce only spoke and appeared like a demon’s minion, but was actually one of their own? It seemed like wishful thinking, so she wasn’t entirely convinced. Having seen him in person, he really didn’t appear to be acting.
“Archbishop, I’d like to know—”
“You don’t need to know,” Gunther repeated. “Just follow orders and relay every single word he says to me accurately.”
“Um, Bruce gave me a third task,” Mona said stiffly.
“Why didn’t you say earlier?” Gunther gave her a reproachful look. “What is it? What else does he need?”
“He said I’m too heavy and told me to get to a hundred and ten pounds before seducing him.”
“Who told you to seduce him?” Gunther said with displeasure. “Don’t act out on your own. Also, hurry up and lose weight until you’re a hundred and ten pounds.”
Mona took her leave, speechless. She wasn’t overweight, not at all. Her figure was so good that even demons would call it diabolical.
After she left, Gunther extracted more than ten torn slips of paper from between the pages of the alchemy book. Pieced together, they formed a simple map of underground Londan.
The first mark was in the Eastern District, near the River Thames. The second was in the Southern District, close to where Mona was ambushed. The third location was in the Western District, while the fourth, fifth, and more locations were marked with question marks.
“An inverted pentagram... or it could be another magic circle...”
Gunther’s eyes lit up with golden light. Having obtained crucial intelligence, he could see much more clearly like a veil had been lifted. However, it wasn’t enough. He needed to obtain the coordinates of all the portals. Only then could he shatter the demons’ scheme with thunderous force and drive them back to hell.
“Rather than driving them back to hell, perhaps sealing them would be a better choice. We’ve been too passive all this time,” Gunter murmured to himself, thinking of the Free Mage Alliance.
With the church’s people in Londan alone, they could at best go head-to-head with the demon descending to the mortal realm without causing more trouble. If they displayed too much power, they would get nerfed in the next version. The royal family wouldn’t allow the church to get stronger, and Gunther had no reason to sacrifice all the power he had accumulated. Under the circumstances, working with the Free Mage Alliance was undoubtedly the better choice.
It would be a message to the royal family: due to your oppression, the church cannot fight the demon, and Londan will face mayhem. Figure it out yourselves!
Gunther put away the slips and took out a fresh sheet of paper to redraw the map. He grew even more curious about ‘Bruce’. Clearly, Bruce had not fallen under the control of the Thousand-Eyed Demon. He sent out information only to eliminate the demon through the church. However, Mona had said that the demon had personally corrupted Bruce’s mind.
Not everyone could resist a demon’s temptation, and not everyone could maintain their sense of self before a demon. The mage given the name Bruce couldn’t be a nobody.
“He uses blood magic and is a disciple of the Blood Tyrant...”
“Perhaps he’s from the Free Mage Alliance...”
Gunther weighed his options. He had to contact the Free Mage Alliance quickly. If Bruce was from the alliance, it would be another instance of the royal family weakening the church. If Bruce followed the Blood Tyrant, the situation would be more troublesome—the Blood Tyrant had to have invested heavily in him for him to resist the temptation of the Thousand-Eyed Demon, which would mean another brewing scheme. It would be no less dangerous than the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s plan, and they had to take it seriously.
“I hope it’s the latter, or it’d be a real hassle.”
Gunther sighed. It had been an eventful time. Earlier this morning, he contacted the Papal State and learned that many countries were seeing signs of the descent of demons. The chaos and the shadow of war were inextricably linked. A great turmoil was on the horizon, and a new era had already begun. The church, however, wasn’t prepared for it.
He glanced at the cross on the wall and complained quietly, “Wouldn’t you just descend? Why make us search for you one by one?”
***
Wayne’s residence.
Valkyrie stood with her sword in hand, teaching Wayne and Vera her dragonslaying swordsmanship. The technique was bold and sweeping, requiring great arm strength. Wayne certainly exceeded the requirement. To his surprise, Vera’s arm strength also met the minimum threshold.
“Who would’ve thought? You’ve got small hands and short fingers. Even when you give others the finger, it looks kinda cute. But you’re unexpectedly strong.” Wayne made his observations. She had seemed so delicate and easy to pin down when she threw herself at him.
It made sense on second thought, though. The disciples of the Goddess of Sun were all hunks who could shatter bricks with their bare hands. In fact, they might lack anything but strength.
That applied to both men and women. After being cursed, Vera had also turned into a typical muscleman.
“Tee-hee.” Vera put her hands on her hips proudly. “It’s all thanks to Veronica beating me up. I often challenge her to wrestling matches, and over time, I became stronger.”
Oh, you got your power from being a masochist!
Wayne rolled his eyes. Was it really something to be proud of?
Half an hour later, a black luxury car drove into the garage. It was dinner time, and the knight’s lesson in the afternoon came to an end. Veryl opened the door and helped the future mistress of the household, Kristen, out of the car. He went up to Wayne and whispered a few words to him.
Wayne’s smile dropped, his brows furrowing. “Someone’s following you? Who?”
“Not clear,” Veryl said in a low voice. “I didn’t see the stalkers, but I sensed their gazes. Those eyes were always on us as we returned home from Evanston Women’s Academy.”
Although Veryl wasn’t a mage, as a former Windsor intelligence agent, he was experienced in counter-surveillance, much more so than Wayne, a secondhand spy. When he suspected that they were being followed, Wayne immediately took it seriously.
“Were they following you, or...” Wayne glanced at Kristen.
“On the way to the academy, I didn’t notice those eyes.”
“I see.” Wayne stroked his chin thoughtfully before whispering instructions to Veryl. The butler frowned.
“Master Wayne, wouldn’t that be too aggressive?”
“Not doing anything is risky, and I don’t like letting a crisis brew before resolving it. A threat should be eliminated as soon as it’s discovered.”
***
After dinner, Wayne excused himself from tonight’s lesson, claiming that he wasn’t feeling well. As an apology, he would personally drive Kristen back to the academy.
She can just stay over. Why drive her back to school?
I can just stay over. Why drive me back to school?
Vera and Kristen had similar questions. Vera suspected Wayne was taking Kristen out on a date. Kristen, while finding the proposal strange, followed Wayne into the car without saying anything.
The knight's armor was stored in the trunk.
Wayne drove away from the city center. Along the roadsides, dim streetlights accompanied the hazy fog, winding through the eerie and gloomy woods.
“Wayne, this isn’t the way to school,” Kristen reminded him.
“I know. I didn’t plan to take you back to school tonight. I brought you out for a date.”
“Um, that...” Kristen blushed, waving her hands repeatedly to decline his kind offer. She believed he should be dating Veronica or Vera; under no circumstances should it be her.
She wasn’t good at turning her friends down. Her stammered response could be summarized as, ‘You’re a good friend. I don’t deserve you.’
Getting friend-zoned all of a sudden left Wayne feeling rather dejected. He parked the car under a street lamp and sat back, swaying the seat back and forth.
“That’s so blunt, Kristen. Although I was only joking, I feel genuinely hurt now.”
Kristen immediately relaxed. Thank goodness it was only a joke, or she wouldn’t know how to face Veronica and Vera. Their relationships were complicated as it was, and she didn’t want to get involved. She was happy with being a friend.
“Wayne, why do you keep swaying?”
“My back itches. By the way, Kristen, have you noticed any strange people lately?” Wayne mimicked what the stalkers might look like by staring at her face and then her chest. “People who look lecherous like this, clearly up to no good.”
...Actually, there is one person like that, but it’s not a recent development. It’s been ongoing for a while.
“Besides me.”
“No, Wayne. You’re not a pervert.” Kristen chuckled.
Wayne asked a few more questions and discovered how careless a person Kristen was. Her life was simple, going between school and Wayne’s place. She only ever interacted with decent people; as a result, she had a poor self-preservation instinct and lacked awareness.
It was fortunate that she attended a women’s academy. If she went to a co-ed school, she would already have flies chasing her to her dormitory in her freshman year.
How strange. When she was a cat, she had been the most reliable one.
Since she hadn’t noticed anyone following her, Wayne decided to reveal the truth: “Veryl discovered someone was stalking you. He’s a professional butler with excellent counter-surveillance skills. If even he sensed the gaze but didn’t find the target, it must mean that the stalker isn’t ordinary...” He continued swaying back and forth with a grave expression. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re being targeted by a mage, or multiple ones.”
“Followers of Death?” Kristen’s expression turned serious, her eyes instantly becoming sharp and fierce.
Wayne was so surprised by her dramatic change in demeanor that he stopped swaying subconsciously. Before he could answer her question, he heard noises coming from the nearby woods.
Kristen’s eyes lit up with white light. The cold moonlight spread out from the car and formed a barrier of crescent moon like frozen spring water.
Such fast spellcasting!
Wayne exchanged a look with Kristen before getting out of the car and adjusting his belt, shouting angrily, “Who’s there? It’s late at night. Can’t you see we’re busy here?”
(눈_눈)
You’re not swaying around in the car next time!
She opened the car door and came to Wayne’s side. He caught sight of several figures. They were cautious and didn’t intend to confront them directly. After hesitating for a brief moment, they disappeared into the darkness.
Wayne didn’t pursue them personally, but have Do follow them while hiding in the thick fog.
“They got scared away, Kristen. Shall we go? Where would you like to continue our date?”
“Home.”
Um, do you mean mine or yours?
He winked but wisely didn’t voice the question, driving Kristen to her home.
Meanwhile, the figures wearing black robes slipped into the sewers and disappeared through a portal. Do marked the location before disappearing into the fog, waiting for her master’s summons.
The robed figures emerged in the ruined ancient city, finding their leader, Geoff, at their base.
“Boss, we failed with target number seven,” one robed man complained. “We’ve wasted two days. She’s not a virgin, so she doesn’t meet the requirement.”
“What happened?” Geoff asked. Target number seven was a research assistant at a women’s academy. She had been a qualified candidate just two days ago. How did she suddenly disqualify?
“Boss, the intelligence isn’t accurate. Number seven isn’t a prim and proper girl,” the robed man said with certainty. “It’s going around the academy. Rumors have it that she’s a mistress of a rich man, always staying the night outside...”
“Shut up! You believe such nonsense?” Geoff laughed in anger. “Use your brain. She’s a member of the Church of Moonlight and the priestess’s adoptive daughter. She may lack anything but money.”
“Boss, is there a possibility that the church urgently needs money, so the priestess sent her daughter to a rich man?”
Geoff stared at his subordinate with a dark expression. Get over here, you smartass. Let me check how much cement’s stuffed in your head.
“But Boss, the boys can testify. That rich man is super rich. His house is huge.”
The other lackeys spoke up one after another, grinding their teeth together as they cursed out the enemy of the lower class, banding together through their collective resentment.
“That doesn’t mean she’s lost her purity...”
“She really did lose it, just now. The rich family’s young master drove her to the roadside, and when there was no one around, he got the job done hastily.”
The robed man cursed in frustration. “We wanted to stop them, but he did it too quickly. What a poor excuse of a man. He was done after the car shook a few times.”
“Yeah, it takes less time than smoking a cigarette.”
“Half a cigarette.”
“Shut up!” Geoff covered his face. “Stop wasting my time and piss off. Did you see him doing it? If not, continue to follow her.”
“Boss, there’s really no need for that. We didn’t see him doing it, but afterwards, number seven had a strange expression on her face. She seemed like a different person. I’ve been there. I understand.”
The robed man raised his hand and swore an oath. Based on all their experience, they could conclude that number seven no longer qualified. It would be a waste of time to keep stalking her.
Geoff slammed a photo down before them. “Then get to the next one. This is number nine. Follow him and check him out.”
“Boss, he’s not pure, either. He’s the rich family’s young master.”
...What, so we lost two targets during the time to smoke half a cigarette?