Chapter 320 (2): The More People I Meet, the More I Like Do

On a physical level, Marshall and Obed had failed, but on a spiritual level, their will to resist hegemony and monopoly deserved commendation. They were advocates who had bravely fought for freedom. Unfortunately, they had terrible luck and ran into a cheater, their dreams shattered before coming to fruition.

Obed, especially, could’ve succeeded.

Marshall was another story. He should’ve become part of the Astral Plane, but for some reason, he regained his sense of self and returned to the Chosen Land to distribute eggs—it was a means to an end, through which he sought to harvest followers like leeks[1].

The number of followers depended on the quantity of eggs. The more eggs there were, the more followers he would gain. Marshall was operating according to the trends in the market.

Anyway, to the Goddess of Darkness, Wayne’s advanced existence meant that he would never truly follow any one god. She wasn’t surprised. When She perceived his form in person, She confirmed that his power wasn’t as formidable as she had imagined.

He was an evolving Astral being, made precious because he imitated an ancient god!

She remained silent for a long while. This meeting wasn’t in Her plan. Wayne, on the other hand, had things to say. He said the lines he had prepared to probe for answers.

“Great Goddess of Darkness, I had no intention of stealing your faith. Anastasia’s transformation was an accident. Because of Thoggua, her body underwent uncontrolled mutation. I couldn’t bear to... I’m sure a merciful one like you would understand.”

Wayne went on and on about Anastasia’s difficulty and his charitable nature, playing up his virtuous image.

The Goddess of Darkness couldn’t care less. She had seen everything under the sun. There had been countless boastful humans like Wayne.

After rambling for a while, Wayne said tentatively, “Goddess, Anastasia must have told you that I’d obtained the power of five chosen knights and merged the power.”

“Yes, Anastasia’s memories told me everything,” the Goddess of Darkness said slowly. “Not only do I know everything, but I also know that the other three chosen knights know very little. Only I am aware of the lie of you being five chosen knights.”

The goddess gave Wayne a valuable piece of information, allowing him to develop before he was exposed. Managing time was Wayne’s specialty. With proper response, he could keep the Goddesses of Nature, Sun, and Moonlight quite satisfied.

At the same time, the Goddess of Darkness was saying that she knew everything, so his trick to appease the three goddesses wouldn’t work on Her.

“Goddess, every mage must make a choice for their future. It seems that I can only choose you.” Wayne spoke respectfully, offering cheap loyalty.

“What, do you want to become the Church of Darkness’s Anointed One?”

“...”

The goddess was obviously asking the question while knowing the true answer, playing dumb and speaking in half-truths. She was a master manipulator.

That was what Wayne thought, however, and the Goddess of Darkness was genuinely considering making him the Anointed One.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She wanted his body for the evolution path that mimicked an ancient god. When She descended through Anastasia’s body and ended up with a part of her thoughts corrupted, She could’ve cleansed the corruption, but she hadn’t, choosing instead to isolate it and let it grow wild.

To a goddess, losing some thoughts was trivial. It was a profitable investment if she could gain inspiration from it.

Anastasia was only Wayne’s follower with a secondary evolution rather than being the source. The Goddess of Darkness wasn’t interested in her. She wanted data extracted from Wayne.

If She could get his information through Anastasia, it would be ideal. If not, She could make Wayne the Anointed One and descend through him to acquire information directly from his body. Then she would continue to cultivate the corrupted portion of her thoughts. Though risky, the loss would be worth it.

At Her level, any progress was extraordinarily difficult. Compared to reaching a greater future, the risk was nothing.

She wanted Wayne as the Anointed One!

Wayne didn’t know Her plan, and even if he did, he would refuse. He continued probing for answers, “Goddess, what do you think life is? Is the composition of the original Life Alliance viable?”

“One goddess has already achieved it,” the Goddess of Darkness drawled. “The Goddess of Nature, whom you follow, has obtained everything. If She learns of your existence, the consequences... You can imagine what will happen yourself.”

Wayne’s heart sank. Thankfully, he had hidden himself well, so Nature only knew that he was three chosen knights in one. He said with a smile, “Thanks to your guardianship, the Goddess of Nature doesn’t yet know the truth.”

“I can tell her. What she can give me is more valuable than what you can offer. After all, she’s gone much further.”

Wayne’s eyes lit up. “So what is She now? The Goddess of Life?”

The Goddess of Darkness didn’t respond. Again, She revealed only half of the story, and the truthfulness of what She had said was questionable.

Wayne inwardly groaned. The goddess was powerful yet excessively cautious. Was the Goddess of Darkness a special case, or were all goddesses this difficult to deal with?

“My relationship with the Goddess of Nature is amicable, but we aren’t that close. I’ll conceal the truth for your sake for a while. In return, I want to examine you periodically and see if a life that’s combined all five faiths is as powerful as the Goddess of Nature.” The Goddess of Darkness didn’t clarify Her true goal, telling half-truths once again.

Wayne frowned. “Goddess, how are you going to examine me?”

The Goddess of Darkness raised Her hand, gathering black light to create a divine idol of Darkness that was uniquely hers. It hovered in the air, shrouded in a black robe with the face concealed and the form obscured. It looked like a crude figurine, cheap and not worth collecting.

“Infuse your power into it. That’s all.”

That simple?

Wayne was skeptical. It wasn’t paranoia, but a wariness completely warranted in this world when individuals differed dramatically in qualities. The more people he met, the more he liked Do. Given the questionable character of most of the legendary mages he had met, what could he expect from a god’s human nature—no, divine nature?

There had to be more to Her plan! What was it?

“You needn’t overthink it. The path of evolution narrows as one ascends. Those ahead suppress those lagging behind. We were once suppressed by the Heavenly Father, and now, Nature is taking the lead. Of course I’d help you. You’d gain time to resolve conflicts, and I’d get the information I want. Our interests align.”

“Makes sense!” Wayne nodded.

“Anastasia will continue serving as the Church of Darkness’s Holy Maiden. Even though her faith is no longer mine, I trust her noble character. Treat her well and don’t betray the faith she’s offered you.”

The Goddess of Darkness smiled, speaking through Anastasia’s body, “She’s your vassal, so I cannot constrain her. I willingly descended through her only because I wanted a chance to meet you. I didn’t expect to meet you so soon.”

“Is this really okay? For the Church of Darkness’s Holy Maiden to not believe in Darkness?”

“Does it matter?”

...Right. You’re the goddess, so you have the final say in everything. You decide who she believes in.

Wayne nodded, accepting the answer for now.

“I will continue to descend through Anastasia. If you’re worried, have her keep the statue and serve as our liaison. You needn’t be on guard. You haven’t matured enough. I haven’t taken forceful measures because I want to observe you. That’s all.”

Wayne nodded, praising Darkness’s tolerance.

Even so, he still felt like the Goddess of Darkness had other intentions. Today’s meeting went unexpectedly smoothly. He didn’t probe more, choosing to part on good terms.

The Goddess of Darkness departed. Anastasia fell to her knees, drenched in cold sweat. Her robe clung to her body because of it, accentuating all the hills, valleys, and curves.

Wayne extended a tentacle, respectfully avoiding her more sensitive parts. Though the Holy Maiden of Darkness was appealing, he was thinking of nothing but the Goddess of Darkness at this moment.

His intuition told him that the Goddess of Darkness wanted more than the evolution of the Life Alliance. The true answer lay in the memory that had been erased from Anastasia’s mind.

“What is it?”

“She can’t be after my body. That’d be absurd...”

Wayne’s thought process derailed when he realized that something felt wrong. Looking down speechlessly, he saw that his self-aware tentacle had coiled around Anastasia’s now exposed bosom. She kept her eyes tightly shut, prepared to sacrifice herself for her faith.

How loyal of you!

Wayne pulled his tentacle back. It wasn’t his fault. Those with tentacles would know that the restless things had a mind of their own and were fond of magic—especially magical girls.

Although Anastasia was a tiny bit older, she had never undergone major operations since her manufacturing. She was indeed still a magical girl.

“Holy Maiden, have you heard my conversation with the goddess?”

“Yes.”

Anastasia nodded. She was reluctant to let the tentacle leave. Sensing Wayne’s judgmental gaze, she shamefully reprimanded herself and wailed internally.

Her inner thoughts were so alarming that Wayne quickly put her on the operating table for emergency treatment. Five minutes later, the patient finally regained composure.

This isn’t good. Things will sooner or later end badly!

x2

“You keep the statue. I’ll come by once every fortnight. Unless there’s anything important, don’t contact me,” Wayne ordered.

Anastasia nodded weakly. While she was relieved, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She blurted out, “What if Lady Darienne asks me to play cards with her?”

Just say no.

Wayne opened his mouth to respond. He ended up not saying what he had wanted to say, “Do what you want to do. You’re allowed your autonomy.”

Under her longing gaze, he left the basement.

Three seconds later, Wayne returned, put her two statues back in place, and said with barely contained exasperation, “This place is too rundown. I’ll arrange a new residence for you in the city. You’re a church’s Holy Maiden, so you should live like one. Treat yourself better and stop punishing yourself. You’ve never done anything wrong.”

With that, he strode away.

Anastasia clasped her hands and held them to her chest, watching her faith go. Then she went to take a bath and change clothes, washing away the remnants of Darkness to pay tribute to the Pale Knight’s statue with a pure mind and body.

The statue of the Goddess of Darkness sat alone to the side, spared the pitiful fate of being forgotten in the storage room only because of her master’s command.

1. In China, people are often compared to leeks. Similar to how leeks grow back hardier after getting harvested, people can be exploited indefinitely. ☜