CHAPTER 120: THE DEMON IS THE REAL DEAL

The Thousand-Eyed Demon looked at Wayne with a profound glint in his eyes, pointing out his true identity upon meeting. Wayne was utterly shocked.

While he wasn’t the real Death Knight, he had Shadow Nightmare, Julia as his mount, and the power of Death, completing the Death Knight set; he was practically indistinguishable from the real deal.

When he first obtained the Death Knight disguise, he had failed to contain his excitement and had recklessly shown off. Thinking it over later, he realized his mistake and decided to redefine the identity as his scapegoat, only assuming it when it was time to kill, rob, or dump bodies into rivers.

Like tonight, he had donned the disguise to execute justice!

To better shift blame and convincingly portray the Death Knight, he had gotten a lot of information from Julia. Her former master was the Goddess of Death’s knight walking among mortals, master of the great underground catacombs of Palis, commander of eight hundred thousand skeleton soldiers... Basically, the real Death Knight was in Palis and was a genuine urban legend.

Since his equipment was authentic and his abilities identical, no one would dare expose him even if they suspected something. Under these circumstances, no one challenged his claim to be the Death Knight.

Yet the Thousand-Eyed Demon immediately pointed out the truth upon meeting, even calling him the ‘new Death Knight’...

Wayne wasn’t sure if the demon was bluffing or truly possessed accurate information. Worst-case scenario, the demon might know that the previous Death Knight had no horse, no head, and no sword, just a skeleton foot soldier.

But trying to intimidate me right off the bat? Not so easy!

“As expected of a demon from hell. You know the Death Knight so thoroughly. Tell me, where did you obtain the information?” Wayne smiled sinisterly, gripping his knightly sword and flaunting an authority that wasn’t his. “This is important to the Goddess, and She ordered me to investigate. I haven’t found any leads yet!”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon regretted his slip of the tongue. After a moment of silence, he said, “I do have information about hell. The previous Death Knight is under the control of a powerful demon.”

“Who?!” Wayne’s eyes blazed with white light, his figure surging with intense Death energy. “Who dared to defile Her dignity?!”

Below him, Julia breathed out purple flames, repeatedly stomping on the ground with her front hooves, showing signs of madness. The mist stirred violently with howling winds sweeping through the cemetery, swaying the tombstones. All around them was the sound of fingernails scraping against coffins.

What a volatile fellow!

Witnessing that, the Thousand-Eyed Demon had no choice but to say, “I don’t know which specific demon it is, only that it’s one of the Seven Demon Lords. They hope to spread faith in the mortal world by controlling the Goddess of Death’s knight.”

It was in a demon’s nature to lie. Wayne didn’t believe the explanation at all. He drew Shadow Nightmare, ready to lash out.

“Thousand-Eyed Demon, you claim that one of the Seven Demon Lords defiled Her. Ridiculous! I think it’s more likely to be you!”

“Impossible. I’ve only just descended to this world and lack the ability to do such things.”

Wisps of Death energy mixed with the mist. Each contact with the Thousand-Eyed Demon erased a trace of his vitality and left behind a shriveled millipede. Displeased, the demon said, “Death Knight, I came to propose an alliance, not to watch you have a fit!”

With that, black smoke rose around him, shielding him from Death and solidifying his private domain. It was stronger than a Gold-rank mage’s vitality barrier, similar to a legendary mage’s vitality field. Within the domain, the shriveled millipedes revived, gaining a dark metallic shine and becoming more powerful.

This was an empty shell with power but no guiding thoughts. The demon had only sent a puppet.

Wayne sheathed Shadow Nightmare, disgruntled. “You aren’t actually here. This is how sincere you are about the alliance?”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon scoffed. “For a first meeting, the piece of information was my greatest show of goodwill.”

He didn’t trust the Death Knight. As a demon who had witnessed too much treachery and deception in hell, he trusted no one but himself.

A powerful demon who was overly cautious! What a pity. Wayne didn’t want to kill only a puppet. It seemed that his plan for tonight would end in failure.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a big issue. Once an alliance was established, there would be plenty of opportunities for him to meet the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s true form.

“I’m not interested in an alliance. The Goddess is dignified and proud, and death is peaceful and tranquil. As Her knight, I will not and cannot work with an evil god from hell.”

“You’re too proud, Knight. It’s precisely why the faith in Death can never become mainstream,” the demon said calmly. “Look at the Life Alliance. They follow goddesses, too, but their goddesses have gained recognition.”

“That’s none of your concern!” Wayne smiled contemptuously. “Besides, the Goddess of Death doesn’t care. Whether the world recognizes it, all things will eventually wither, and death will meet all equally and inevitably. Everyone will one day return to Her embrace.”

“That may be so, but the faith in your goddess in the mortal world faces suppression from the Life Alliance. As Her knight, don’t you want to do something about it?”

“...”

“It seems that you’re deeply troubled!” the Thousand-Eyed Demon said unhurriedly. “I heard about your actions in Londan. The Goddess of Death does care about faith. Death’s changing, and that’s the right start. However, a good start doesn’t guarantee a good ending. The Life Alliance won’t stand idle. A war will break out sooner or later.”

“What are you getting at, Thousand-Eyed Demon?”

“We can work together. Under the propaganda of the Church of Heavenly Father and Life Alliance, hell and Death have both been labeled as evil. We can change that. Before defeating them, we’ll be natural allies.” The demon tried to tempt him.

“They are just insects. I’ll defeat them by myself. Why must I work with you?” Wayne snorted disdainfully, his skull looking arrogant somehow.

“Her knight may be fearless, but Her followers are too fragile. If the Life Alliance exploits that, the glory of Death will never spread. Take the current Londan as an example. Yes, Death’s reputation has somewhat improved, but how long can the followers persist? The Death Knight alone cannot break the cage. You need an ally.”

Wayne was quiet for a moment. “Tell me your plan.”

Got you!

The Thousand-Eyed Demon smiled. All beings had desires, be it humans, chosen knights, or even demons. He knew before coming that they would reach an agreement. Otherwise, the Death Knight could have simply not shown up.

“I saw your magical creations. You must know that Londan’s mist can spawn magical creatures,” the Thousand-Eyed Demon said. “Slowly accumulating power isn’t going to overthrow the cage built by the Life Alliance. Only by assembling an army of magical creatures is there hope. I happen to have that power.”

“You have the power, but not me.”

“Knight, allies should have some trust in each other!”

“Yes, but demons aren’t worthy of trust.”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon fell into a resigned silence. Hell’s reputation was so poor that a demon had no credibility. Nine times out of ten, their descent attempts failed because of a fundamental lack of trust that inevitably led to internal conflicts.

“Very well!” The Thousand-Eyed Demon seemed to have made up his mind. He slowly said, “I’ll tell you the specific location of the magic circle and share half of the authority with you. I’ll provide the people, while you provide the strength. Before the army is assembled, you’ll need to keep the Church of Heavenly Father in check.”

“And you? What will you be doing?” Wayne could tell that it was the crux of the issue.

“I need to select a body among followers!” the demon said. It wasn’t a lie, just a half-truth.

“How long will it take?”

“Not long. It’ll be done soon.”

***

The Thousand-Eyed Demon led the Death Knight to an underground lair. It was a desolate, silent ancient city with architecture similar to ancient Rome from another world—massive, magnificent, spectacular, with numerous arched structures and decorative pillars.

The ancient city’s origin was unknown. It had been lying quietly beneath Londan, accessible only through an abandoned subway station.

Wayne suspected it was connected to the Thousand-Eyed Demon; that the demon’s arrival preceded the city’s appearance. Bo, Do, Julia, and he himself all tended to wander around the sewers and subway tunnels, yet never had they discovered this city at the end of the sewer. Moreover, several churches had operated in Londan for hundreds of years without finding it, yet after the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s arrival, it was suddenly here.

The demon was really something!

The demon led Wayne to an ancient building that looked like a colosseum, with a vast plaza, tiered audience seats on all sides, and walls about a hundred meters tall. Above the empty colosseum, fierce shouts and roars echoed occasionally, a stark contrast with the empty seats.

Wayne saw dried blood on the rock surfaces. Over the years, the blood had penetrated the boulders and coated them in a thick layer of black stains. It seemed that the colosseum had been in use recently.

He filed away all his observations while maintaining a poker face, appearing nonchalant like he found nothing special about this place. He could do it too.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon wasn’t paying attention to the Death Knight’s expression; after all, it was a skull face with no skin, let alone expressions.

In the colosseum, the Thousand-Eyed Demon had already set up the magic circles, arranged in the air to create a portal to draw Londan’s nighttime mist here. The inverted pentagrams representing hell formed a line in the center, with various bizarre-looking animals placed on them. After the demon’s manipulation, it was difficult to discern the animals’ original forms.

In front of the magic circles, a black crystal orb sat on an altar. The dark currents swirling inside shifted into twisted faces.

“Knight, inject your thoughts into it, and you can control these magical beings.”

Wayne didn’t move. As he had said, a demon’s words were less reliable than his diary. Trying to trick him into leaving his thoughts? Not a chance.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon shrugged. Believe it or not, he was making the offer sincerely with both hands. If the Death Knight didn’t want it, that wasn’t his concern.

Wayne dismounted, sending Julia leaping through a portal. When she returned, she had Bo the water ghost dangling from her teeth.

“Bo, inject your thoughts into the crystal orb,” Wayne commanded coldly. “You’ll control the army on my behalf.”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon shook his head repeatedly. His ally wore his distrust on his sleeve without showing even basic respect. If he didn’t need cannon fodder, he would’ve kicked an ally like this away.

Bo was completely bewildered. The crystal orb looked dangerous, and if injecting thoughts into it bound him to another master... Right, he was overthinking this. His master had made the order because it wasn’t safe.

It was too difficult to be someone’s subordinate. He couldn’t have peace even in death!

Bo swallowed his complaints, not daring to disobey his master’s orders. He put his hands on the crystal orb and injected his thoughts into it.

“From now on, you will stay here throughout the day. You only have half an hour for a shower at night. If you discover anything unusual, notify me immediately.” After making the order, Wayne turned to the Thousand-Eyed Demon. “If there’s anything you need, tell Bo. He’ll contact me.”

The Thousand-Eyed Demon looked discontented. Allies should be equals, but the Death Knight treated him like an employee. How absurd! The last Death Knight who dared to look down on a demon had their head removed and used as a soccer ball!

As a mature demon, he smiled and said nothing. Only after Wayne mounted his horse and left did he slowly turn to Bo and say, “Young man, your master doesn’t treat you very well!”

None of your business. I’m doing it voluntarily!

Bo refused to communicate with the demon, not even making eye contact. He found a corner of the colosseum and sat down.

The Thousand-Eyed Demon didn’t press. He had only offered a change of workplace out of habit and to annoy the Death Knight; he didn’t actually intend to headhunt Bo. In his plan, only the Death Knight and the Darkness Knight were qualified to be cannon fodder.

Unfortunately, the Darkness Knight’s whereabouts were unknown, and the followers of Darkness couldn’t reach the knight, either. What a shame that he couldn’t assemble his dream team of expendable pawns.

He looked at the dome of the ancient city, black light blooming in his eyes as he sealed the passage connecting to the outside world.

He would win!

***

Study, Wayne’s residence.

Sitting at his desk, Wayne sketched a map on paper and marked the underground ancient city’s location, listing all the information he had gathered today. He frowned at the list. A demon’s words couldn’t be trusted. The Thousand-Eyed Demon had been too accommodating, making no complaints even when blatantly disrespected. That could only mean that the demon had a grand plan, for which he was willing to lower his pride.

Wayne closed his eyes. “His target isn’t the Church of Heavenly Father, and the magical creatures created through the mist are only a means to an end, or even a smokescreen...”

“Damn, if only I could find his true form.”

He opened his eyes and looked out of the window. Kael’s face flashed through his mind. The detective was likely from the Church of Heavenly Father. If he gave Kael the information about the demon’s arrival in Londan, perhaps the Church of Heavenly Father would have a solution.

“No, at least not now. The Thousand-Eyed Demon would suspect me, and if the trail goes cold, it’d be even harder to find him again.”

He shook his head. Based on Bishop Keith’s performance, the Church of Heavenly Father wasn’t a reliable help. Acting rashly would only alert the enemy.

“But the intelligence should be sent out. There’s no reason that I should be guarding Londan alone while they party away, drinking and chasing women...”

He rubbed his temples. How should he go about it so that the Church of Heavenly Father would accidentally discover the underground city? This matter required careful consideration.

After a moment, he thought of someone else: Mona!

She joined Wayne’s Detective Agency through Kael’s introduction with an unclear motive. She might also be from the Church of Heavenly Father. The missing pet case Wesley was handling had seen no progress. If the case was transferred to Mona, and she happened to find the underground ancient city and reported to her superiors at the church...

“It could work, but I need to find out if she is from the Church of Heavenly Father.”

He pondered for a moment. Thinking the plan viable, he opened his drawer and placed several valuable artifacts before him: the sacred tome, the gloves of Death, and the ring of Darkness. All could be useful.

“Oh, and this!” Crimson light flashed through Wayne’s eyes. He drew a longsword of blood crystals.

“A demon’s follower stalked a cleric of the church and imprisoned her in the sewers, using every means to corrupt her. Isn’t that what always happens in movies? I’ve got a believable motive. This could work.”