Chapter 289 (2): The Decisive Battle Begins

After inquiring about it, Wayne learned the situation Anastasia was in and couldn’t help but marvel at how much of a jack-of-all-trades the woman’s role in the Land of Seal was. She was ready to go wherever she was needed and was always useful.

First, Anastasia was the Holy Maiden of the Church of Darkness with formidable power, allowing her to barely fill in for the Darkness Knight’s absence.

Second, she had mastered numerous divine arts from the Church of Death and could, when necessary, guard Death’s post.

Finally, since she wasn’t a chosen knight and could move in and out of the Frozen Land, free of any restrictions, she could immediately handle the crisis if something went wrong with Londan’s Ocean of Mist.

Although she had failed to turn the situation around and even lost her body in the process, she tried, didn’t she?

Even in her ruined state, she had her uses. Anastasia had created a magical puppet—she called it a ‘magitech puppet’. It was an independent branch from alchemy that incorporated influences from technological advances and had a bright future ahead.

Inside the magitech puppet were the powers of the chosen knights of Nature, Sun, and Moonlight. For one, it was to create a balance and protect Anastasia’s thoughts, and for another, it allowed her to take the place of any of the chosen knights at critical moments.

She was doing five jobs while earning only one salary, and she was happy to go on work trips as assigned by the company. She was too extraordinary, and her sense of responsibility was undeniable, no less than the three chosen knights of the Life Alliance.

Speaking from a purely objective perspective, Wayne was certain that the Goddess of Darkness had to be blind not to have chosen Anastasia as Her chosen knight. Compared to her false friend, Senna, Anastasia was practically a saint.

He had made up his mind. He would have all of Anastasia. He already had her body, so now, it was time to take her thoughts.

You wanna die? Not so easy. You’re a good person, so live!

Perhaps his gaze was getting unnerving and bothered Anastasia; she reminded him, “Mr. Wayne, Senna must have told you something. She’s gone mad, but I won’t. I hope you understand that.”

“Honestly, I don’t understand.”

“I won’t turn out like Senna!”

...

Let’s hope so!

Wayne sighed. That was exactly what troubled him most. He wanted Anastasia to live, but feared that she might succumb to corruption.

“As long as you understand, Mr. Wayne.” Anastasia didn’t delve deeper into the topic. “The three chosen knights are preparing to charge into the realm of the ancient god’s followers beyond the seal to separate the projected space from the Frozen Land. Success would be ideal, but if it isn’t possible, they must at least disrupt Thoggua’s awakening and make it fall back into deep slumber.”

“Mr. Moula has explained their strategy.”

When Moula informed him, Wayne had asked why the three chosen knights dared to lead the charge against such a formidable enemy that had required the five goddesses working together to seal. He got a straightforward answer:

First, Thoggua was still sealed, and not only were they sealed, but they had also been split into parts, with many parts transferred elsewhere.

Second, the five goddesses weren’t incapable of killing Thoggua; they only chose to seal Thoggua instead because they were concerned about attracting the ancient god’s attention.

Any single goddess had the power to expel Thoggua, but none wanted to stick their neck out. In the end, they did it together.

The last part wasn’t a direct quote from Moula. Wayne interpreted his words and cut out the flowery praises and embellishment to arrive at a simple conclusion: The goddesses were afraid of tentacle monsters!

Anastasia continued, “Although I’ve learned the divine arts of Death, I’m not the Death Knight and thus cannot suppress this land with the power of Death. When it comes to it, you’ll have to take control of my body.”

Back when the Headless Knight could still wrap his mind around something because he had a head, he had left behind a great volume of Death energy to guard the seal. Over time, though, only a limited amount of energy remained at the post.

Anastasia could manipulate the energy with divine arts, but couldn’t create more. Therefore, she could only put up a defense initially. Once the Death energy ran out, she would need Wayne, as three chosen knights in one, to wield the power of the chosen knights in her body to stabilize the seal.

The goal wasn’t to achieve a victory, but to ensure a successful defense.

“Mr. Moula told me that, too. I asked him one question that he didn’t answer.” Wayne frowned deeply. “Holy Maiden Anastasia, if I use the three divine powers in your body, causing you to lose your balance, what will happen?”

“My thoughts will dissipate from the imbalance, and I’ll meet a quick death.” Anastasia showed no sorrow. “Worry not, it’s only ‘quick’ relative to my long wait. I can hold on for at least half a month, enough to help you complete the mission of defense.”

“Half a month is a long time to be in great pain. Can you really endure it?”

“Yes. As long as I endure until the end, I’ll be liberated.”

“...”

Wayne shook his head, letting go of his last reservation. He would keep this person alive one way or another.

“Mr. Wayne, the knights haven’t left us with much time. Please familiarize yourself with my body as soon as possible. It’s essential.” Anastasia pulled open her black robe with both hands. Inside the porcelain shell, three magic stones glowed brilliantly in different colors, embedded in the magitech puppet’s chest in an equilateral triangle.

The three stones were crucial and immediately captured Wayne’s attention. He stepped forward and said, “The shell is a seal and blocks my perception of the knights’ powers. When I need to use the powers, I just have to dismantle you, right?”

Anastasia didn’t respond. She had been using the body for sixteen years, so she had some attachment to it.

Only then did Wayne realize his mistake. “I’m sorry. I’ve always seen you as a normal human, and thus I treated this body as your magical prosthetic. I won’t speak so offensively next time.”

When she remained silent, Wayne rubbed his hands together and said, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to study it in depth, for no other reason but my inability to resist the allure of magic.”

Times had changed. Magical guns weren’t a groundbreaking invention, but simply a creation made to keep pace with the times. Magitech puppets were the truly disruptive innovation, combining magic and technology.

As expected of alchemy, it was always at the forefront of progress.

Anastasia silently permitted his request, standing still and letting him tinker. Wayne carefully disassembled and reassembled her parts, his eyes gleaming with a very human interest like someone who had just received a life-sized figurine.

There was something Anastasia hadn’t mentioned: magitech puppets had a sense of touch. Although the signals were artificial and false, she had gotten used to converting the signals to perceptions after sixteen years.

In other words, she could feel every touch from Wayne, and depending on the intensity, her thoughts responded differently.

The disassembly and reassembly made her feel the pain of being torn apart.

Wayne was unaware of that. His only thought was that Anastasia was too unlucky. Her original body had been extensively studied by him, and now, even her new shell was being studied. She was so pitiful that he resolved to compensate her in the future.

Just then, a screen of light emerged before Anastasia. Moula appeared on the screen. Due to the angle, he could only see the back of Wayne’s head, and he was crouching between the magitech puppet’s legs.

Moula froze for a moment before coughing into his fist.

“Mr. Moula, are we practicing swordsmanship today, too?” Wayne stood up, still wanting more.

“Wayne, don’t do something so disrespectful,” Moula said gravely. “Anastasia probably didn’t tell you, but she can sense pain. You dismantling her is equivalent to dissecting her while she’s alive.”

“What?!” Wayne broke out in a cold sweat and quickly dove back under her black robe to install the parts he had removed, repeatedly apologizing to her.

“Mr. Moula, what can I do for you?” Anastasia asked.

“Um, let’s talk about that later.”

Moula covered his face. From his perspective, Wayne was burrowing under Anastasia’s dress. He knew that he was overthinking, but he still had to say something:

That looked horrid!

Equally horrid was Anastasia’s mental state. She was numb due to her yearning for release. Her heart was already dead.

Wayne finished reassembling everything and emerged from the robe looking quite embarrassed. “Apologies, I didn’t know. I should’ve asked.”

“You two should get familiar with each other. I don’t have anything to ask of you. Just checking in.” Moula glanced at Anastasia worriedly. Then he said to Wayne, “Leo, Darienne, and I are preparing to strike at the projected space. You don’t have much time left. Advance to Gold rank as soon as possible. When the time comes, don’t do anything unnecessary. Your mission is to defend, not to attack.”

“I understand,” Wayne said solemnly.

When he learned of the battle plan, he had guessed the three knights’ intention. He couldn’t speak about the situation at the Sun or Moonlight headquarters, but the Church of Nature did not deserve Moula.

“Also, you know about Anastasia’s situation. If possible, help her fight her boredom...”

Moula regretted his inability to please the opposite sex due to his serious personality. According to Darienne, Wayne had a knack for charming girls. Anastasia, the Holy Maiden of the Church of Darkness, was undoubtedly a girl, albeit a little older.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He hoped that Wayne could bring happiness to her in her remaining time, even if he could only make her smile once in a while.

“Rest assured that Holy Maiden Anastasia will never be bored with me around.” Wayne accepted the mission and expressed his determination to complete it.

Moula nodded and said to Anastasia, “I’m entrusting Wayne to you. He’s not yet mature enough and will have impulsive moments. Remember to calm him down and stop him from doing anything reckless when the time comes.”

“Sir Moula, I promise you that he will live.”

What a coincidence. That’s the same promise I’ve made!

Wayne looked at the magitech puppet’s stiff face. He extended his thoughts and sensed his thought amplifier on the fringe of the Land of Seal. The beautiful pale body with tentacles, dressed in a yellow robe... It was waiting for the right moment to return to its rightful owner.

The light screen faded, and Moula disappeared. He ventured deep into the seal with Leo and Darienne, looking for cracks in the projected space.

They had entered and divided Thoggua’s body before. At the time, the seal was still stable, and Thoggua was in such deep sleep that they offered no resistance. Now, it was different. Every step required extreme caution, especially since the projected space was a projection of the ancient god’s Vassal Realm, where Thoggua was joined by other lifeforms.

Meanwhile, Wayne studied the magitech puppet once more, more gently this time, and he told a few Francan jokes every now and then to make the lady smile.

It didn’t work very well.

***

The entire Land of Seal rumbled and trembled as an ancient, profound whisper coiled like threads of silk, crossing an endless void and penetrating through layers of mist to reach those who listened.

On the fringe of the Land of Seal, the yellow-robed figure fidgeted restlessly...

The decisive battle had begun!