Chapter 256 (1): I Am Superman All Along

“What are you doing, Senna? Why are you provoking Veronica?”

“I’m being your wingwoman.”

Really? You’d be that helpful?

Wayne scoffed dismissively. “Let me guess, while teaching Veronica, you’ve come to see her as Master Silvia and me as Auston, so you want to make Veronica see the light. Is that it?”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Fine, I’m overthinking then.”

Wayne raised his arm and dispersed his gauntlets, placing his hand on Senna’s slim waist. Fingers splayed, he grasped the curves of her bottom.

Senna quickly took two steps away and lowered her head to suppress her gasp, unwilling to let him see her flustered.

“Oh, why are you dodging me? What happened to being my wingwoman?” Wayne glanced at her. “Your thoughts cannot hold any secrets from me. I know everything you’re thinking. Since you’re doing that for Veronica’s benefit, I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

Senna took a deep breath to suppress the stirring desires in her heart and followed him obediently. Like Veronica, she had to wonder if the goddess was blind.

Thud!

An arm fell to the ground.

Senna regenerated it, unfazed. Recently, she had been studying her new body and thoughts. Outside of the repulsion, everything was quite good. Even the eerie regeneration seemed to have a peculiar beauty to it after she got used to it—mysterious, ancient, and esoteric. Her will and existence now transcended everything.

The more she studied herself, the more obsessed she became with her faith. She craved to gain more knowledge from Wayne.

“Losing an arm again? Were you talking behind my back?” Wayne didn’t mind. He was secretly encouraging Senna to struggle, in fact. “Keep provoking Veronica. I approve of it and won’t consider it an offense against me.”

Senna was surprised.

“You’re right. Veronica is Master Silvia, and I am Auston. They both have a terrible eye for men.” Wayne freely admitted that he was a scumbag. “I can’t possibly tell Veronica the truth, but you can. Speaking the truth won’t count as offense.”

Senna still didn’t understand.

Wayne transmitted his thoughts to her directly, telling her that he wanted to be an honest scumbag, and Senna, as an outsider who knew the truth, could enlighten Veronica.

Why don’t you tell her yourself? Why make me do it?

Senna frowned. His open request only made her not want to do it. The reason was simple: the more blame she shouldered, the greater her sins, and the more reasons he would have to abandon her. She didn’t want to be abandoned!

Just like the earlier trial for Nature’s chosen knight, if Wayne’s identity were exposed, she would surely bear the consequences as cannon fodder.

She knew that Wayne could hear her thoughts. When he didn’t say anything, she steeled herself and said with frustration, “My thoughts and body are already dedicated to you. I don’t want to be dispensable. I crave to stay by your side always.”

“Who am I?”

“Ma-mas—”

Senna couldn’t say it. She hadn’t gotten used to her new reality; she wanted to be his Silvia.

“Senna, this isn’t how a follower should be. The loyalty you display isn’t absolute. You need to learn to move on your own rather than only moving when I tell you to. A loyalty that isn’t absolute is absolutely not loyalty. Why should I value you then?”

Wayne said bluntly, “You will never be Master, and I don’t expect much from you. But who knows what the future holds? Perhaps you’ll adapt one day!”

That wasn’t a future she looked forward to.

Senna’s expression turned bitter. She had an abnormal craving for faith and would soon lose her rational mind. She couldn’t imagine what she would become then, but it certainly wouldn’t be good.

“Then I’ll give you one chance!” Wayne pointed at her forehead, speaking slowly. “I’m allowing you to retain yourself out of respect for Master. Be grateful to her.”

As his fingertip touched her forehead, a strange mental wave rippled through her mind. She was liberated. Although she still yearned for faith, it was not as intense as before. Her body wasn’t as sensitive, either, so she wouldn’t lose control the instant she came into close contact with her faith.

She felt lighter, and her steps quicker. She said through clenched teeth, “Master, your follower, Senna Castellana, thanks you for the gift of new life. I will spend my remaining days working hard for you.”

“That sounds weird. Just call me by name!” Wayne rejected the address. It was too weird, and he felt like he would develop strange ideas about her if he heard it a few more times.

They arrived at the courtyard before the great hall. Wayne explained Moula’s situation, “According to Sir Moula, he’s encountered trouble in the Frozen Land. Something that can stump a chosen knight must be serious. When the time comes, you’ll be my mount.”

...Just because she could transform into a dragon didn’t mean that she was actually one. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to ride her?

Senna hesitated only briefly before accepting the arrangement. Followers were meant to be the carriers of their faith, and ‘mount’ was only another name for the same role.

“You’re quite good at consoling yourself!” Wayne commented.

Senna turned around and pretended not to hear him. If he was going to ride her, just do it. She had finally found an excuse to convince herself. He should spare her the comments.

When her body didn’t collapse from the irrelevant thoughts, she realized that Wayne had lifted a few more restrictions on her. Honestly speaking, she had to admire him for that. If their roles were reversed, she definitely wouldn’t be so generous. She would torment him in various ways...

Oh no, she’d dwelled on the thought too much!

“Ah, those are nice ideas. I’ll take them. We’ll go through those games when we get the chance.” Wayne patted Senna on the shoulder and spoke to her pale face. “You have excellent imagination. Keep it up. Whatever you can come up with, I’ll satisfy you out of my generous heart.”

Senna’s expression crumbled, her thoughts evaporating. She removed her long robe and undid a few clasps, transforming into a great dragon in the center of the courtyard.

The dragon was entirely dark green with scales that seemed to be carved from emerald. From afar, she looked slender and graceful, yet she exuded incredible power up close. The sharp fangs, deadly claws, and gently radiating aura perfectly combined the greatness of life and the mystery of nature.

Or that was what she should’ve been.

Both the life and nature she embodied now gained a pallor. The green dragon was no longer pure. Beneath her beautiful shell, layers of intertwining tentacles writhed in twisting patterns.

Wayne jumped onto the green dragon’s back. Senna wanted to struggle, but held back.

It wasn’t easy to tame a dragon. Even Veronica, who liked Wayne so much, resisted in her dream. If Wayne hadn’t corrupted Senna, he would’ve never gotten to mount a dragon in his lifetime.

Riding the great dragon and piloting her around, Wayne practiced a few combos he had envisioned. The visuals were incredible, but the effectiveness in real combat was mediocre.

With the great disparity in size between the dragonrider and the great dragon, their combination wasn’t greater than the sum of the parts. On the contrary, both Wayne’s agility and the green dragon’s mobility ended up decreased.

Riding a horse would be more practical, but Wayne didn’t care. He wanted to be a dragonrider!

He stood on the green dragon’s back and raised Elemental Mantra, conjuring a number of elemental greatswords. His Life Armor glowed, covering the green dragon he was riding in a full set of white armor of the same material.

Senna had never been this strong. Her vitality increased further, and she gained the ability to learn and imitate. In only a few breaths, she absorbed the divine power of life imbued in the white armor and stored a portion within her body permanently.

Amazing!

Two hours later, Wayne ended their combo practice. Senna wore a tight-fitting outfit made of drake scales, displaying the graceful, round curves of her physique. Wayne couldn’t help but steal a few glances.

Senna’s eyes twitched. This was what she was worried about. If her faith extended his tentacles toward her, should she submit... or submit?

“You could resist, you know?”

“...”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something else. I wasn’t talking to you.” Wayne cleared his throat. When he saw the tight outfit transform into a conservative long lingerie, he couldn’t help but stop her.

“That won’t do. You’ve got a great body, but your taste is terrible...” Wayne took two steps forward. “As a fashion designer, I cannot condone this. Listen to me. This is what you’ll be wearing from now on.”

He transmitted a packet of all the new clothing designs he had developed while experimenting with Mona. According to Silvia, the designs were too bold for the public to accept.

Senna opened the file and had to look away after a glance. They were beautiful, but also humiliating. She would rather die than wear such clothes.

“Shut up and change your clothes already!”

After half an hour, Senna wrapped her long robe around herself. Her new undergarments were uncomfortable for her to wear, but she didn’t dare to change back. She prayed that Wayne would quickly return to Londan, or she would go crazy sooner or later.

“You’ve gone crazy. I pieced your thoughts back together.”

Would you stop reading my thoughts? What about privacy?

“I’ll try my best.” Wayne was pleased. He praised, “You have an excellent figure. It would be a real shame for you not to return to Londan with me as a model. Would you consider resigning from Oracle High Reverend and becoming my full-time secretary?”

Senna turned away silently, both in speech and in thoughts. Her faith should figure her feelings out on his own.

“I take that as a silent yes.”

“It’s not. I didn’t—”

“Tsk, not loyal at all.”

Wayne called it a stop, worried that he wouldn’t get to have as much fun if he pushed her too hard. This was nice. He hoped that Senna would maintain her current state and not give up on herself.

Without exiting his Nature Knight state, he took out the half-finished Philosopher’s Stone and examined it.

“This is a failure. Inside the stone is the Misty Forest, consisted of condensed Darkness and Death. You can unfold the world within or enter it directly...”

Senna volunteered the information. “It’s said that a complete Philosopher’s Stone has no internal world. It’ll be a crystal the color of crimson blood. The one you’re holding right now retains a legendary mage’s achievements in life. It can only be considered a solidified vitality field.”

“Entering the Misty Forest with the stone will allow you to access the inner core, where you can directly experience the Darkness and Death. However, few do so because it’s too...”

Senna stopped herself. Others couldn’t do it, but Wayne could.

He was the Darkness and Death Knight. The stone might as well have returned to its rightful owner.

She had to wonder if Wayne had wanted the Misty Forest purely for the power of Darkness and Death to strengthen his abilities as a knight.

“Don’t make assumptions about me by your moral standard. I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart...”

Wayne snorted, entering the Misty Forest with Senna.