Chapter 317 (2): Twilight of the Gods x Age of Declining Magic

Wayne heard half of the story and was left hanging. Unable to bear the itch of curiosity, he aimed for Darienne’s weakness and made several one-sided promises regarding card-playing before finally getting her to continue.

“I forgot to mention earlier: the Moonlight Knight from the late seventeenth century was my predecessor. We’re master and student, but also friends.” Darienne amended, creating a friend out of nowhere. Yes, she had heard everything from said friend; she wasn’t that old.

Wayne nodded. Yes, her friend was absolutely right.

After a snort, Darienne continued, “The world once experienced an age of declining magic. It was the Twilight of the Gods and a dark age when faiths fell apart.”

“The Church of Heavenly Father couldn’t contact Heaven. The Pope became as weak as a frail old man overnight. All mages of the Church of Heavenly Father lost their mana, their powerful thoughts regressing and their incredible life essence vanishing. Knowledge became worthless all of a sudden...”

“That was why the Church of Heavenly Father declined. Without raw power to maintain their influence, no one listened when they spoke of empty faith. The royal families of various countries regained their power. They only left the cathedrals untouched because faith was a convenient excuse that could benefit them.”

“The change wasn’t limited to the Church of Heavenly Father. All magic was gone. The mages of the Life Alliance similarly lost everything...”

“All known mythologies, including Hell, disappeared.”

“Darienne, can you be more specific about the timeframe?” Wayne interrupted. “Have you... your friend told you that?”

“I don’t know. It may be the sixteenth century, maybe earlier.

My friend

wasn’t born yet, so she couldn’t be certain of the exact time.”

Wayne nodded. If it was the sixteenth century, it was in line with what he and Ottilia had found in their study. If there were no other unforeseen factors, the Chosen Land had to have undergone an age of declining magic in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. The gods departed, and magic ceased to exist in the human world.

What a coincidence. The development of modern science, the Reformation, and the Renaissance all occurred around the same time.

Wayne analyzed the clues. In the Chosen Land, where gods truly existed, technology shouldn’t have flourished. It should’ve been snuffed out by churches the moment it showed signs of sprouting. Bruno, the well-known pioneer and martyr of modern science, for example, had gotten on the Pope’s bad side for insisting on heliocentrism, ending up burned as a heretic[1].

There was no Bruno in the Chosen Land. Heliocentrism was a theory originating from the Church of Sun...

Right. So Wayne analyzed the clues, and it appeared that the age of declining magic was the reason various countries were able to break free from the Church of Heavenly Father’s absolute rule. The Chosen Land ushered in an age of scientific development. People believed science to be the primary source of progress, leading to today’s airplanes and cannons.

Having confirmed that the age of declining magic had indeed happened and its approximate time, Wayne pressed, “Darienne, did your friend say when the age of declining magic ended?”

“No. It’s as if the entire world restarted overnight, and mythology returned.”

Darienne wasn’t sure which day it happened. When she became the Moonlight Knight, mages could already train freely. The Church of Heavenly Father was no longer dominant, while the Life Alliance grew stronger, and Darkness and Death began their rise.

Additionally, the age of declining magic was why the seal on the Frozen Land became damaged, and Thoggua slowly woke from its slumber.

The ancient god’s vassal had excellent sleep quality. It took three to four hundred years for them to wake up.

“Though the Church of Heavenly Father’s advantage is gone, Heaven has never ceased to exist. During that period, angels frequently reincarnated, as if they were going to wipe out all heretics at once. Perhaps chosen knights appeared around that time.” Darienne concluded her explanation.

Wayne nodded, realizing why all churches had refused to bring up the past.

Take the Church of Heavenly Father as an example, their Sacred Tome had said that the Heavenly Father was omniscient, omnipotent, and all-powerful, but then their Heavenly Father went missing after the Twilight of the Gods, so did the angels.

The retconning was a slap to the Heavenly Father’s face!

The same was true of the faiths of the five goddesses. They also had their pride, so it was better for the unpleasant memory to remain buried in history.

Moreover, the five goddesses’ power was proven. Their seal in the Frozen Land only failed because of the age of declining magic. Otherwise, Thoggua would’ve remained asleep.

The more Wayne knew, the more he didn’t know. Now, a new question arose: how did the Twilight of the Gods and the age of declining magic come about?

Was it an ancient god’s doing, or did the powerful humans become so numerous that they exhausted the limited reserve of the four elements in the Chosen Land, forcing it to go into a recovery period? Did it recover after recuperating?

Wayne voiced those questions, but Darienne couldn’t answer him. “My friend is too young to know all that.”

“How about Sir Moula and Sir Leo?”

“They aren’t that old, either.” Darienne shrugged. “As far as I know–ahem, as far as my friend knows—the oldest chosen knight is the Death Knight. I mean the one residing in the underground catacombs in Palis rather than the new one active in Londan.”

“The Death Knight...” Wayne murmured. Curiosity clawed at his heart like a cat. He desperately wanted to rush to Palis to have a good, long conversation with the Headless Knight. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Palis was crawling with demons. Even the Headless Knight had lost his head to them. If Wayne went, he would have little to offer but genuine feelings.

“The Death Knight in Londan is quite an interesting one. He participated in your family’s rebellion. Do you know who he is?”

“No, I’ve never seen him.”

Wayne shrugged. It was the truth that he had never seen the Death Knight in Londan. He skillfully deflected the suspicion. “However, I heard that he made the Great Cemetery in the Western District his home and has been sleeping most of the time, only stepping out occasionally. His willingness to help the Lando family probably has something to do with the Church of Death. Maybe an oracle from the Goddess of Death?”

“Don’t worry. I’m interested, but I’m not planning on taking out your family’s support.” Darienne looked at Wayne and said cheerfully, “You should be worried about yourself. You and the Death Knight in Londan exist in the same era and will inevitably clash. Do well. Don’t embarrass me.”

Speaking as if you can beat the Headless Knight!

Wayne rolled his eyes and ignored the flippant woman. Darienne continued in a gleeful tone, “Londan is so blessed. The new Death Knight and Darkness Knight have chosen this city as their base, and the Moonlight Knight is also here... After you worked together to dethrone the Windsor family, conflicts will surely arise.”

She was enjoying the drama. When Wayne ignored her, she frowned at the window. “You’ve circled this block three times. If you keep going, I’ll get lost. Take me back already. I want to play cards.”

“Back to Church of Moonlight’s library?”

“No, Filomina’s place. You two aren’t allowed to get freaky tonight. You’re both sitting down and playing cards with me.”

Then I’m not going. I’ll be losing the chance to donate billions tonight, which would be a great loss!

I’d rather meet up with the Dragonblood, twin-tailed girl, or the secretary. That’ll be a better time!

Wayne sighed. “Darienne, I’m happy to play cards with you. To be honest, I’ve dreamed of playing cards with you several times since leaving the Frozen Land.”

“Ha, cut the crap. Why won’t you play cards with me tonight?”

“I’m busy with work!” Wayne said wryly. “As you can see, the Lando family has succeeded in our rebellion. With only one phone call, I can invite you to dinner at Buckingham Palace. I’m now one of the Vice Ministers of Magic, and the family needs me to work overtime—I have to conduct research at the Ministry of Magic.”

“What research? I’ll come along.” Darienne insisted on keeping Wayne around for card games.

“That won’t be appropriate. You’re the Moonlight Knight, and Windsor’s Ministry of Magic is your enemy.”

“You think Windsor is strong enough for that?”

Good point.

“Besides, you’re the Moonlight Knight as well. Why can you go, but not me?”

Very good point.

Outside of card games, Darienne was an intelligent woman. Wayne couldn’t deceive her when she didn’t want to be deceived. He had no choice but to bring her to the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic.

***

The headquarters was located in the Western District, not far from Buckingham Palace. It covered a large area with several entrances, all manned by dedicated guards. Security was tight throughout the day.

Security had doubled further after the night Douglas rebelled, and the Lando family cleaned the house. All outsiders had to make appointments in advance to enter.

Members of the royal family were exceptions.

The ministry members on guard duty today knew that Wayne should be considered a member of the royal family. They inquired about Darienne’s identity as per protocol and accepted ‘new secretary’ as an answer.

As expected of the Prince, his secretary is stunning!

xN

Sensing the guards’ strange looks, Darienne shook her head. Her successor’s private life was too messy. She had never met a chosen knight who took off his belt so readily. The goddess had been too hasty.

Darienne had no say in whom the goddess chose as Her knight, though, and what was done was done. She would follow the goddess’s oracle and make sure that Wayne didn’t cheat on Moonlight with Nature and Sun.

The car went around the headquarters once, and then a second time. On the third circuit, Darienne scoffed. “Why, can you not find your office, Vice Minister?”

You saw through me again!

Wayne shrugged. “I know where my office is, but the Lando family is known for our filial quality. It’s so late that I’m agonizing over whether I should pay my respects to Father.”

“What’s there to agonize over? Just go.”

“You don’t understand. My father, Auston, was the Queen’s ex-boyfriend. The two of them... alas, my family isn’t a happy one!”

Oh, fun!

Darienne’s curiosity was immediately piqued. He urged Wayne to hurry and greet his father. If he caught the King and Queen in the act, she would get to broaden her horizons.

Wayne made a face, leading her into the office building that had belonged to the Queen.

Bam!

Wayne kicked the door open. When he saw the two people inside sitting properly without any signs of inappropriate physical contact, he looked visibly disappointed.

“Wayne, you—”

Auston was about to question the action when he saw the aloof beauty by Wayne’s side. He froze.

Feigning indifference, he asked curiously, “Who is this lady? Did you get another lover?”

Queen Sophelia also looked over. Although she couldn’t sense any mana from Darienne, the silver hair and eyes suggested a mage. She couldn’t help but speculate about the woman’s identity.

She was dressed in all white. Perhaps she was a clergywoman sent by the Church of Heavenly Father?

Tsk, so beautiful!

“Don’t speak without thought, Father. This is Lady Moonlight Knight. Hearing that our family has become the new masters of Windsor, she came from afar to congratulate us.”

Sophelia stared in silence with an aching heart. She shouldn’t have worked overtime tonight. She should’ve just rested in Buckingham Palace.

1. This refers to Giordano Bruno, who was declared a heretic by the Pope for insisting on his cosmological view and sentenced to death by the Inquisition. He was burned alive at the stake. ☜