Chapter 180 (1): The Winner Has the Final Say

The Church of Moonlight’s largest base in Londan was a library. The three churches in the Life Alliance shared a preference for using a library as a front. This particular one was located on the street next to the bustling Commercial Street, a pleasant area in a neighborhood with heavy traffic.

When Wayne emerged from the sewer, Mona had already reached the entrance to the library. She had been ordered to stay put, so she hadn’t seen her master for a long while. It was finally time for a reward. Beaming, she approached Wayne with a fragrance clinging to her.

She had just put on some perfume; that was what a woman did for her beloved.

“What’s going on? Which demon is it this time?”

Wayne strode through the front door of the library and lifted his hand. Mona hugged his arm without missing a beat. From the back, they looked like a young couple who had just fallen in love.

From the front, she was obviously older than he was.

“I don’t know the details yet. Only...”

Mona explained everything she knew. Wayne nodded to himself. As expected of the primary faction of the Chosen Land. Even though they were nerfed again and again over time, their foundation remained, allowing them to notice the unusual signs from the Ministry of Magic first.

He had been pondering on his way here. The Church of Moonlight got attacked multiple times by the Ministry of Magic, and now, the church’s base went dark, and the Ministry of Magic’s headquarters fell. The traitor was obviously making a finishing move.

He didn’t think the assaults were related to a demon, but Mona was convinced, using the cross at Saint Paul’s Cathedral as evidence. He had to adjust his hypothesis.

Either one of the legendary mages at the Ministry of Magic had fallen under the demon’s control, had formed a mutually beneficial partnership with the demon, or had made a deal with the demon to use the demon as a pawn after their descent. All three possibilities were valid. The primary enemies would be the legendary mage... and the demon!

Speaking of banishing demons, Wayne had to admit that he was a professional. He had already turned two into the latest laughingstocks in hell.

He and Mona quickly walked into the library, their hurried footsteps at odds with the studious silence inside. A scholar nearby adjusted his glasses, gesturing at them to tread more lightly.

Wayne gave an apologetic nod and looked around. He didn’t see any staff members of the library—members of the Church of Moonlight stationed in this base, that was. He narrowed his eyes and expanded his chaotic, complicated thoughts.

Imperceptible grey mist gathered above the library, disturbing every reader inside and instilling fear, unease, and other negative emotions in them. They lowered whatever they were reading and couldn’t wait to leave.

A regular Silver-rank mage couldn’t do what he had just done. Wayne did it by merging with the

Book of Greed

and becoming a source of corruption. He only had to leak some of his energy for regular people to be affected.

If he pushed himself, he could even influence a Gold-rank mage’s thoughts, such as Filomina’s.

Back in the Capital Hotel, when Filomina’s body and thoughts were corrupted by the flesh of an Astral Beast, she should’ve turned into an octopus monster permanently, destined to spend the rest of her life in the Great Prison of the Forgotten. Wayne took her corrupted flesh and faced her corrupted thoughts, and using himself as a source of corruption, he corrupted her a second time.

He repeatedly reminded her not to forget her human form to awaken her will, making her reshape her corrupted body on her own. Without doing that, there was no telling what Filomina would’ve transformed into.

With Wayne being a more potent source of corruption than the flesh of an Astral Beast, her body was most likely going to mimic Wayne’s unconsciously, reshaping itself after his image.

In one sense, it followed the same logic as the corruption of the Astral Plane. There had been some examples: The Lord of the Void was corrupted by the vast knowledge he acquired, the members of the Geocentrism Sect were corrupted by the Lord of the Void, and the followers of the Sea God were corrupted by the Blood Tyrant.

In another sense, it could also be seen as an evolution, with more numerous examples: The elves of the Life Alliance, the angels of the Church of Heavenly Father, the familiars of the hellish faiths, the skeletons of Death, the giants of Storm and Lightning...

Whether it should be considered corruption or evolution, the winner had the final say!

Back to the present, after driving the ordinary people out of the library, Wayne extended his thoughts to look for the office in the library. He had never entered the Church of Moonlight’s base before, but following his experience in the Sun’s counterpart base, he found three portals on a wall of the office.

Hexagram, Cross Star, and Triangle Star!

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Three quaint arched gates were lodged in the wall, etched with the simple patterns of four lunar phases: waxing crescent, waning crescent, new moon, and full moon[1]. The vibrant vitality and prosperity leaped out from the surface.

The Goddess of Moonlight’s likeness was also etched on the gates. She wore a mage robe that concealed her appearance, gracefully nocking an arrow to her bow. She wasn’t dressed in the translucent, laced white lingerie with cut-out parts Wayne had fantasized about.

“Didn’t expect the music teacher to dress this formally at work. Hm, I almost didn’t recognize her when she was fully clothed...” Wayne muttered, following the sweet scent in the air to the portal marked with a Golden Triangle.

That was Filomina’s smell! It was the perfume he had personally picked and given to her, so he was certain of his judgement.

“Boss, this is a portal of the Church of Moonlight. It can only be activated by the faith of Moonlight.” Mona gave herself a mission. “I’ll grab a mage of the Church of Moonlight now. It won’t take long.”

“Don’t bother. It’s just the faith magic of a heretic, simple enough to learn now.”

Wayne pressed his five fingers to the arched gates and met the gaze of the

Book of Greed

, channeling the limited moonlight he possessed to imbue his mana with a layer of white glow, activating the portal.

“What did I say? Simple enough to learn now.”

He spoke as if it were the natural thing to do. He was an angel, and an angel should be a quick learner who could infiltrate any faction and achieve success. Mona bought the explanation without questioning it. Angels transcended common sense, and if anyone took issue, that person would be the problem.

In other words, her master could do no wrong.

She stepped into the portal first and found herself in a new world. Against the backdrop of the night sky, a full moon hung in the air, above two rising peaks. Between the mountain peaks, a waterfall cascaded down like the Milky Way, resembling a light silver curtain under the moonlight. The soft, shimmering glow had a serene and calming quality to it.

Above the waterfall, the full moon enveloped the two peaks. Combined with its reflection in the dark pond below, it painted a beautiful, poetic picture.

Extending to the sides of the peaks, around a dozen churches of different sizes stood watch like the most loyal guards, protecting their goddess the way stars protected the moon.

The waterfall rumbled as it rushed into the pond. Moisture permeated the air, spreading the refreshing scents of vegetation and isolating the area from the surrounding noises. All there was was holy and tranquil, as if the moonlit water was washing over the soul to cleanse and elevate it.

Mona watched coldly, resisting the temptation of the heretics. Wayne approved silently. Each church’s posturing was grander than the next to attract and exploit believers.

“Boss, the Church of Moonlight has implemented a barrier of faith in this space, suppressing my power and preventing me from fighting to the best of my ability.” Mona checked the stigma on the back of her hand. The restriction was absurdly powerful, and she would’ve been no different from a regular person if not for her stigma.

Wayne closed his eyes to sense his powers. Outside of his most powerful Death and Nature, all other might as well not exist.

After some consideration, he took the pendant of the Sacred Lance of Heaven from under his shirt and handed it to Mona. “This is an angelic weapon. Use it well and don’t disappoint me.”

“Rest assured that I will protect your honor even if I die fighting,” Mona said solemnly. She got on one knee and took the sacred lance, her eyes glinting with golden light.

“Don’t die fighting. This is the Church of Moonlight, not our church. Prioritize protecting yourself and don’t think about risking your life.” Wayne found it necessary to remind her. Mona wasn’t him. She really would throw her life away in the heat of the moment.

Thus, he added, “Don’t talk about death so carelessly. If you die, I’ll have to find another servant. You don’t want me playing those little games of ours with other clergywomen, do you?”

It worked wonders. Mona seethed with burning fury at the mere thought of it.

With the buff of the Sacred Lance of Heaven, she recovered eighty percent of her maximum power. Unfolding her white wings, she held onto Wayne and flew toward the two peaks.

1. The raw is waning crescent, dark moon, new moon, and full moon, but having both dark moon and new moon while only having waning crescent is a bit odd. I think the author may have thought new moon means waxing crescent and used dark moon to refer to new moon. Thus, I chose to put the four more distinct moon phases here. ☜