Mythology Rebooted
Chapter 185 - 111: Lord of Greed, The Seven Demon Kings_2

Chapter 185: Chapter 111: Lord of Greed, The Seven Demon Kings_2

So, there are as many deans as there are academies, responsible for the management and administrative work of the academy; they are the real power holders.

Like Bishop Keith, he is the honorary dean of the Theological Seminary.

"With Your Grace’s devout faith and attainment, you’re only an honorary dean?" Wayne expressed his surprise.

Keith shook his head, not sure if Wayne was truly ignorant or just pretending to be, and continued on the topic, "The Holy See and the Royal Family have signed an agreement that allows the Theological Seminary to remain, but it cannot teach faith-related Divine Arts. Dean Julian is more suitable for the study of theology than I am."

Wayne nodded, the Royal Family’s old tactics were indeed shrewd.

As the two walked and stopped, Keith seemed to do so intentionally, leading Wayne to the front of the Theological Seminary, coincidentally running into Dean Julian.

Julian was tall and slender, dressed in a well-fitted suit, a theological researcher and not a Mage.

Upon seeing Keith, he immediately grabbed his wrist, as if he’d seen a savior: "Keith, you’ve finally come. About what I mentioned to you last time..."

Mid-sentence, Julian looked towards Wayne: "And who is this gentleman?"

"This is Mister Wayne. He’s not an outsider; he’s a very close friend of mine. Continue speaking, it’s okay."

"..."

Wayne, seeing the two playing along, didn’t reveal anything; he just shrugged and stood to one side to listen.

Recently, strange graffiti had appeared within the university town, scattered in every corner. The graffiti was chaotic and seemingly purposeless; at first, it did not attract attention, until graffiti appeared within the Theological Seminary, catching Julian’s attention.

Studying theology inevitably involves focusing on the enemies of the Heavenly Father; Julian promptly recognized a connection between the graffiti and the Evil Gods of Hell and immediately contacted Keith.

Just after a peculiar fog appeared not long ago, Keith paid close attention to it. The investigation had faded into silence, culminating in today’s unexpected meeting between the two men.

Wayne silently nodded, confirming Keith had early control over the movements of the Thousand-Eyed Demon, and his invitation for Darcy to investigate Jianhe County was not a spontaneous act.

The old guy was sly, ditching Darcy without a second thought and roping me in as new cannon fodder!

Wayne understood the cause and effect and was about to find an excuse to leave.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to help, but a skinny camel is bigger than a horse; despite being oppressed by the Royal Family, the Heavenly Father’s Court had its own substantial influence.

In the God-chosen Continent, ’God’ refers not to the Goddesses but to the Heavenly Father, the Creator; He is the only god.

"The Thousand-Eyed Demon is one of the seventy-two Demon Kings of Hell..."

Keith began to recount the faith in the Evil Gods of Hell; Wayne did not rush to speak and quietly listened on, then asked after a long while, "Bishop Keith, I have seen followers of blood in Lundan; what is the status of this Blood Evil God in Hell?"

"The Monarch of Blood, also known as the Blood Tyrant, is one of the seventy-two Demon Kings..."

"The strength of the Demon Kings varies; they each have their own realm and forces. They constantly attack and denounce each other, and there’s endless warfare among them."

"The Blood Tyrant is only mid-tier among the Demon Kings, but his father is extremely terrifying!"

Keith gravely continued, "His father is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, corresponding to the Seven Archangels, and one of the top seven Demon Kings of Hell, the Demon King of wealth and greed. We usually call him the Lord of Greed."

Wayne: (¬_¬)

What lord?

Wayne unconsciously glanced at The Book of Greed within him, was there a chance that his golden finger was related to this Demon God of greed and desire?

The Book of Greed rolled its Great Eyeball and expressed disdain for Wayne’s speculation, "What caliber, daring to share a title with us? Should go to Hell and devour him."

Going to Hell is out of the question, Wayne would never go to Hell in his life.

He’d rather sneak into the bed of a Goddess!

Wayne’s interest was piqued, and he asked Bishop Keith to elaborate, especially regarding the Lord of Greed and the rest of The Seven Demon Kings.

"Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust; the Seven Demon Kings of Hell, the origin of all original sin." Julian took over the conversation; his expertise in theology far exceeded that of Bishop Keith. When it came to the faith in the Hell Evil Gods, he was more professional.

"The Lord of Greed resides in the Gold realm of Hell, tempting people to fall with money and power. His magic is omnipresent; as long as money and power exist in the world, he can never be eradicated."

"The symbols of the Lord of Greed are the crow and the fox..."

Julian enlightened Wayne one by one, starting with greed and moving to pride, then to wrath and sloth, envy, and gluttony, detailing each one thoroughly.

Wayne: "..."

So, what about Lust? Why didn’t you even mention it?

Wayne meant no offense; he genuinely didn’t care. The key point was that his friend wanted to hear about it.

Moreover, if The Seven Demon Kings are beings on a conceptual level, combining that with reality, he guesses that Lust would be the most powerful among the Seven.

"Finally, Lust."

Dean Julian swallowed his saliva. He had been lecturing for too long, and his throat was dry, but seeing Wayne’s eyes brimming with curiosity, the dean felt it was necessary to continue.

"Cough, cough!"

Bishop Keith coughed lightly into his fist, signaling to get back to the point, as the conversation had strayed too far off-topic.

Dean Julian smacked his forehead, returning to the original discussion, and began to elaborate on the Thousand-Eyed Demon to Wayne.

"The Thousand-Eyed Demon has the appearance of a half-human, half-insect creature, with a thousand legs and a thousand eyes. According to the records, heretics who worship the Thousand-Eyed Demon can extract other people’s souls and thoughts, turning the power of others into their own..."

I want to hear about Lust!

Wayne glared at Keith, irritated. He had waited so long and just when they were about to discuss the most terrifying and evil one among The Seven Demon Kings, the topic was diverted back to the Thousand-Eyed Demon.

To be fair, what’s so scary about a thousand legs? The truly fearsome thing has just two. Throughout history, many heroes have fallen at this hurdle, across both the righteous and the wicked.

That being said, Wayne couldn’t help but feel a bit intrigued by the Thousand-Eyed Demon. Extracting someone else’s soul and thoughts, and even using them for oneself, seemed quite cool.

Curious, can it extract the Four Elements from someone?

Wayne remembered Planck mentioning that, during the Silver Crucifix Stage, mages still had to obtain the Four Elements through meditation to strengthen their own Essence of Life.

By the Hexagram Stage, he was already using an extravagant amount of the Four Elements. The Silver Crucifix Star Stage would surely consume even more, and the thought alone was terrifying.

If the followers of the Thousand-Eyed Demon could extract the Four Elements from others, the benevolent deity Wayne wouldn’t mind paying homage.

"The symbol of the Thousand-Eyed Demon is the centipede, the creatures hiding in the dark and moist places. Its followers share these insects’ characteristics, lurking in the shadows, never exposing themselves to the light..."

Dean Julian was halfway through when Bishop Keith took over the conversation: "The same goes for the insect disaster this time. If I’m not mistaken, the black sorcerer from last night wasn’t the mastermind; he was just a chess piece being used."

Keith had caught several similar pawns before, just without causing as much fuss as Quentin did.

A mysterious presence hidden in Jianhe County could be considered Keith’s old rival, although the latter knew everything about him, while he didn’t even know what the rival looked like or which Evil God they worshipped.

Not until the statue of the Thousand-Eyed Demon was unearthed did Keith begin to confirm their faith. He looked eagerly at Wayne and extended a serious invitation.

"The power of the Heavenly Father’s Court in Windsor is quite weak. I hope to gain the assistance of the Naturalism Church. Pastor Wayne, our faiths may differ, but what we protect is the same. You are a potent Silver Mage, and I hope to have your assistance," Bishop Keith said with growing excitement.

Wayne: (눈_눈)

Sounds familiar. Just last night, he had suspected Darcy of installing cameras in the library’s basement.

"I can lend a hand, but I won’t get involved in the investigation; my responsibility is only to catch the culprit, and all actions must be unrelated to my status as a pastor of the Naturalism Church," Wayne stated firmly, setting clear boundaries.

Keith was overjoyed.

"And since I’m involved as a mercenary, let’s not harp on about justice," Wayne said.

He held out his hand, expecting something tangible, right there before Bishop Keith: "What’s your offer?"

Plain speaking, Wayne was interested in the skill of siphoning from others and was greatly intrigued by the followers of the Thousand-Eyed Demon. But that alone wasn’t enough; agreeing outright would make him appear naive and gullible.

When doing business, one must acquire either fame or fortune, and there’s no shame in directly asking for money.

"..."

Looking at Wayne’s pristine white hand, both Dean Julian and Bishop Keith fell silent, especially the latter who couldn’t fathom why he was being sent to willingly get fleeced.

And to fulfill any request no matter what. Was it possible that Wayne would want the prized Holy Shroud from the cathedral, and he’d have to hand it over?

That couldn’t be right; they didn’t even share the same beliefs.

———

Nine thousand words, I’m begging for monthly votes, or it’ll be too late to ask.