Chapter 292 (2): Heart-to-Heart

“Master, are you alright?”

Wayne’s brow furrowed in worry, as if he’d witnessed the end of the world.

Silvia wearily opened her eyes, her head still spinning. She pushed away Auston’s arms and sat up, taking a moment to fully recover. “Wayne, why do you look so terrible? Has the Land of Seal fallen?”

“It almost did, but we barely made it through.”

“Then what’s with you...”

“Look, Master. The thing I was worried about happened after all.” Wayne glanced at Auston, shaking his head repeatedly with his eyes tightly shut. “I can’t bear to look at him, truly.”

Confused, Silvia turned and saw Auston holding Megan. Her eyes twitched, and her hands instantly balled into fists.

Wayne took two steps back to make room for her.

With a sigh, Silvia unclenched her fists and started healing Auston and Megan.

“Master?!”

“He’s exhausted. I’ll deal with him when we get back. Besides, Megan is exhausted, too.”

“Master, you’re too kind!” Wayne said with anguish. “If you make compromises today, Auston will push forward tomorrow, and next year, Megan will be a mother.”

Weighed down by the words, Silvia turned to glare at Wayne. “This is adult business. Don’t meddle. Aus... Megan isn’t that kind of person.”

“Fine, but promise me, Master, that no matter what happens in the future, the family cannot fall apart,” Wayne insisted.

Silvia rolled her eyes. “If I remember correctly, Auston and I passed out at the same time. Why, when I wake up, would Megan be...”

“Auston faked passing out? How shameless!” Wayne cut her off. “With such an excellent wife, he’s still not satisfied and made a move on Megan. You and Megan do not deserve this.”

Silvia wanted to say something, but hearing Wayne’s description of Megan, she shook her head and fell silent.

Wayne stepped forward to help with the healing, waking Auston before Silvia could rouse Megan. The instant Auston woke up, he held the blonde beauty in his arms tightly, kissed her forehead, and murmured, “It’s okay. I’m right here. This time, I’ll protect you.”

(눈皿눈)

Do you even hear yourself?

Silvia ground her teeth together.

Auston was still dazed. Only when his vision focused did he realize that the person in his arms wasn’t his wife. Worse still, his wife was right beside him and had heard every word crystal clear.

“Silvia, let me explain.”

“You’ll have your chance once we get back. I don’t want the excuses now.”

The calmer Silvia was, the more panicked Auston became. Terrified of going home to find divorce papers, he hurried out, “It was Wayne. He put—”

“Ahem!” Wayne cleared his throat with a cough, interrupting Auston’s rambling. “Megan is about to wake up. If it were me, I wouldn’t be speaking nonsense right now. That would be too hurtful.”

Auston’s face stiffened, his expression changing. For a long moment, he couldn’t speak.

“Bastard, you do have feelings for her!” Silvia punched him in the face.

Megan slowly came to. Seeing herself lying in Auston’s arms while Silvia administered domestic violence, she silently pulled the black robe over herself and sat up. She remained silent with her face slightly flushed.

The shift in attitudes between the three of them was exceptionally strange. Wayne couldn’t guess what Silvia and Megan were thinking, but he could tell that Auston had been refusing Megan all along, yet less and less strongly because her devotion made him unwilling to hurt her.

Aunt Megan, this is as far as I can help you!

Wayne gave himself a thumbs-up. After his tireless machinations, Auston finally tore off his hypocritical mask of a good husband. With him serving as a fine example, it would be perfectly reasonable for the Lando heir to embrace women left and right in the future. And because the student should strive to surpass the master, the student didn’t settle for only having one woman in each arm.

It made perfect sense. The logic was flawless!

“Master, there are other matters to take care of in the Land of Seal. I won’t disturb you further.” Wayne waved and disappeared in a flash, not immediately taking the three of them out. There were too many people outside, all complete strangers. Auston would definitely use the excuse of avoiding embarrassment to his advantage. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

Receiving a mental message from Anastasia, Wayne slipped out at lightning speed, his body transforming into white foam as he reached the surface.

It was the first time Anastasia contacted her faith with her thoughts and the first step to corruption. When Wayne arrived, she had a conflicted expression on her face.

The Holy Maiden of the Church of Darkness had a strong sense of responsibility. She quickly set aside the distracting thoughts and said, “The crack in the projected space under the Land of Seal vanished. The three chosen knights are trapped inside. They have likely been sent to the ancient god’s Vassal Realm.”

Wayne frowned. The projected space and the ancient god’s domain were in completely different leagues. The former was merely a projection, while the latter would be grand beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

To use an inappropriate analogy, the projection would be the Church of Nature’s headquarters, and the latter would be the Goddess of Nature’s Divine Realm.

“Sir Wayne, what do we do?” Anastasia asked.

“What else? Charge in and rescue them.”

Senna scoffed and said bluntly, “Master, it’s important for you that the three chosen knights are gone. With them missing, no one would know your identity.”

She had a point. Being chosen by three goddesses was too absurd, and the three knights would surely ask their faith the question—ask the goddesses they followed. The goddesses would be utterly confused and, upon investigation, discover theft of power.

It was hard to tell what the goddesses would do, but putting himself in Their shoes, he knew it wouldn’t be anything good.

Now, the crack in the projected space had closed, and Thoggua wouldn’t descend upon the Frozen Land again until they accumulated enough knowledge. Stopping here and leaving everything as it was would benefit the entire world.

The only downside was what would happen to the three chosen knights. If they stayed in the projected space too long, Thoggua might drag them into the ancient god’s Vassal Realm. If someday the ancient god went around the territory incognito on a whim, the three knights would become tentacle monsters forever.

When Wayne stayed silent, clearly intending to rescue the knights, Senna urgently said, “Master, please think rationally. Rescuing them offers you no benefit.”

“They’re chosen knights from the previous era with overwhelming power. They might become your enemies in the future!”

“Risking yourself for the enemies isn’t worth it!”

“You have a point.” Wayne nodded and summoned the yellow-robed Pale Nest, holding the three gems on the magitech puppet’s chest.

He turned to Anastasia and said, “Stand guard here with Senna. I’m going to find those three. If I’m not back in three days, the two of you will come looking for me.”

Anastasia nodded, gaining a new understanding of her faith. He wasn’t entirely unacceptable!

“It’s too dangerous, Master.” Senna was still trying to dissuade him.

“It’s fine. I’ll just be reborn through you. At worst, I’ll be seriously injured. It’s not that easy to kill me.” Wayne dissolved and headed straight to Darkness’s post below.

Risking himself for the enemies wouldn’t be worth it, but it was worth everything to save Moula, Leo, and Darienne.

After Wayne left, Senna glared at Anastasia viciously. “Look what you’ve done, traitor. You’ve betrayed your faith.”

Anastasia turned away. After a moment, she said, “If you mind, he could be reborn in my body.”

“Oh, please, why would a traitor like you have the right to let Master enter your body?” Senna mocked her acidly. “You’re clearly lusting after Master. Bah, how shameless!”

Anastasia fell silent. She was terrified and lost, seeing her own future in Senna.

Was it too late to ask for the Goddess of Darkness’s help now?

***

Once in Darkness’s seal site, Wayne saw Auston subject to domestic violence from afar. He shook his head with contempt for the scumbag before continuing downward in foam form.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Passing through the seal, he arrived in a familiar void. He telepathically made an inquiry to Anastasia, downloading the information from her mind to search for traces of the crack in the projected space.

When he entered the Void this time, Wayne felt at ease like he had come home. Everything was wonderful to him, except for one thing: the Void contained vast knowledge and information, ninety-nine percent of which contradicted his understanding of life. However, the

Book of Greed

welcomed it all, reaching and waving its tentacles around to gather the information diligently.

Wayne knew that the book couldn’t be wrong. After pondering, he concluded that he had been narrow-minded.

The concept of life was so grand that the knowledge he possessed was only a drop in the ocean, insignificant and negligible.

Since the universe was balanced, the universe’s all-encompassing balance was indisputable. Both he and Thoggua only spoke of parts of life. If he insisted on using his incomplete understanding to interpret all of life, he would only be crushed by a more powerful, more inclusive interpretation in the future.

Wayne admitted his mistakes and corrected them. He humbly adjusted his understanding and set out across the void to find the crack in the projected space.

Soon, he saw a familiar figure. Within the shattered space, a massive worm gnawed through a spatial tunnel and emerged.

Wayne paused in surprise. “Isn’t it supposed to be a rare apex predator among the Astral Beasts? Why do I see one every time I enter?”

How ludicrous!

The Astral Worm eyed Wayne greedily, drooling. There was nothing it wanted more than to pounce and swallow him whole, but not today. While gnawing through the spatial tunnel, it had encountered an existence that made its heart seize up, right where Wayne was. If it pounced now, it might get what it wanted, but it couldn’t bear the consequences.

The risk was too great. Better wait longer!

The Astral Worm restlessly moved in and out of the pitch-black tunnel, giving up in the end. It didn’t go far, though, but simply hunkered down and waited.

Thanks to it, Wayne found the remnants of the crack in the calm Void. Well-read as he was, he concluded that the crack had been closed from the inside. Thoggua had used the chosen knights’ plan against them, moving base and outmaneuvering the knights.

Wayne took out the three magic stones. Merging with the

Book of Greed

, he transformed into the Pale Knight, his right arm morphing into a blade. Following the stones’ guidance, he slashed down at the space before him.

“Open!”