CHAPTER 111: LORD OF GREED, THE SEVEN DEMON KINGS

Meanwhile, in the library basement.

Quinton was bound to a wooden post with vines, and to prevent him from resisting, Darcy had planted a mushroom on his head. It would continuously drain the prisoner’s strength, making it a simple, efficient method of subduing a target. While it wasn’t particularly sophisticated, it was practical.

Wayne sat in a corner of the basement, taking a white handkerchief from his pocket to cover his nose and mouth. He had thought the gesture girly, but Veryl insisted on it for ‘elegance’. Under his persistence, Wayne had gradually developed the habit.

Darcy fed Quinton hallucinogenic mushrooms. Since the latter was no longer human, he increased the dosage. In his dazed state, Quinton confessed everything.

He was a biologist from Cambrook University’s Department of Natural Science, not a mage who had been trained systematically. Thus, he had crude combat sense and only used the millipedes to swarm his targets.

Everything he had learned came from a mysterious figure, and so did the alchemy book and the evil god statue. According to him, the mysterious figure wore a suit and looked just like any social elite with no discernible features. He couldn’t remember the person clearly.

The trail went cold.

“He’s just a puppet, used by someone else.” Darcy went through the information at hand, frowning. “Faith in an evil god has nothing to do with the Church of Nature. The Church of Heavenly Father should be the one worrying about it.”

True, but I fought all night. I traveled long distances and rushed around saving people. I can’t just let them take the prisoner without some gesture of appreciation!

“Nonsense!” Wayne glared at Darcy. “It’s precisely because there are too many aloof people like you that chaos finds fertile ground to breed. Our faiths may be different, but we’re protecting the same thing. Don’t ever think like that again.”

Darcy nodded. Whatever his boss said.

“My master often instructed me that if you can’t distinguish between the righteous and the evil, then protect the good. I wholeheartedly agree,” Wayne said with a stern expression.

“Who is your master, Archdeacon?” Darcy asked curiously. Which powerful senior could have trained a strong and righteous mage like Wayne?

“She serves at the Londan head office as High Reverend.”

Darcy fell silent. His boss had been too humble. Were he the one with a High Reverend master, he wouldn’t have been satisfied with being an ordinary Level One Archdeacon. Just trying to add a title to his resume? Oh, no, he clearly took the post to avoid suspicion of abuse of power!

Noting Darcy’s growing respect, Wayne nodded in approval. “Work a little longer tonight to get the report done. Contact the Londan head office tomorrow morning and send the report as soon as possible.”

Wayne looked at Darcy’s receding hairline with appreciation. One look told him that Darcy was a pure-blooded Windsor, which meant he had to be an expert in staying up late to write reports.

“Archdeacon, I’ve already contacted Londan head office.”

“Oh? What did they say?”

“They’re waiting for a reply from the Church of Heavenly Father. If there’s no other surprise, we’ll hand over the prisoner and evil god statue tomorrow.”

In other words, they were still negotiating. They would give up the culprit and evidence, but not for free.

Wayne nodded. The evil god statue had a strange air about it. The hot potato should be handed away as soon as possible. While he didn’t really mind, the other mages at the base could be affected. It was better to get it off their hands so that everyone could sleep better.

***

The next morning, Ottilia, the book lover, arrived uninvited, reading books in a corner of the library. Her love for reading was obvious. It seemed that immersing herself in the ocean of knowledge made her happier than anything else.

Ottilia wasn’t the most beautiful woman Wayne had known, but she was undoubtedly the purest, like a lily unpolluted by the material world. Looking at her made one want to hold the delicate flower in their mouth to shield her from the elements.

Because of her outstanding looks and temperament, boys would stop by her seat to hit on her every now and then. Wayne shook his head at the sight, instructing someone to bring Ottilia into the office. They would buy a desk for her so that she wouldn’t have to read outside.

His reasoning was simple: such a fine cabbage should rot in his cabbage patch even if he couldn’t have it[1].

Ottilia gave him a grateful look and sat in her corner, forgetting the world around her.

After yesterday’s surprise inspection, none of the clergy members dared to be late. Even the one who arrived the latest reached the office ten minutes early.

At nine o’clock, Bishop Keith visited the library and invited Wayne to a stroll through the university city. Wayne readily agreed. Visiting the university city had been one of his goals in coming to Cambrook County. Recently, he’d been reeking more and more of money, and he wanted to amend that by submerging himself in the atmosphere of learning, which should also help him write something different for Veronica. A diary entry with more literary merit, perhaps.

He thought of the bridge over the River Cam, the Cambridge.

“Is this Archdeacon Wayne’s first time in Cambrook County?”

“Yes, I hold literature in high regard, so I submitted an application to headquarters. Cambrook County was my first choice for assignment.” Wayne lied smoothly, not missing any opportunity to build his reputation. Since they were going to have awkward small talk anyway, he might as well say good things about himself.

Sure enough, Keith praised his pursuit of literature and shrewdly didn’t delve deeper into the topic. He offered to serve as a guide, introducing Wayne to the university city.

The Cambrook University was the second-oldest university in Windsor. It had a long history, and around a dozen of its colleges were scattered throughout Cambrook City. The colleges were highly autonomous, with independent admission quotas and competition among themselves. Collectively, they were called Cambrook University.

The university’s chancellor was merely a symbolic role, only appearing at major ceremonies, such as awarding degrees at graduation. They rarely interfered with university affairs, if ever. Thus, the dean of each college was the real leader, responsible for governance and administrative work.

Bishop Keith, for example, was the honorary dean of the theology college.

“With your devout faith and achievements, you’re only a nominal dean?” Wayne asked in surprise.

Keith shook his head. He wasn’t sure if Wayne genuinely didn’t know or was deliberately playing dumb. “The Church of Heavenly Father signed an agreement with the royal family. We can keep the theology college, but we can’t teach divine arts. Dean Julian’s research into theology makes him more suitable for the role.”

Wayne nodded. As expected of a royal family with a long history. They were quite deft in manipulation.

They walked and stopped to talk every now and then. Seemingly on purpose, Keith led Wayne to the entrance to the theology college, where they ‘coincidentally’ ran into Dean Julian.

He was a tall, thin man dressed in a well-cut suit, clearly a theology researcher rather than a mage. When he saw Keith, he immediately grabbed his wrist like he was his savior. “Keith, you’re finally here! What I told you last time—”

He paused, looking at Wayne. “Who is this gentleman?”

“This is Mr. Wayne, a close friend of mine. Please continue. It’s fine.”

Wayne didn’t expose them for putting on the act. With a shrug, he stood on the side and heard them out.

Some time ago, strange graffiti started appearing throughout the university city. They seemed meaningless with no discernible pattern, so initially, they didn’t draw any attention—until they appeared inside the theology college and caught Julian’s notice.

His study in theology inevitably made him pay more attention to the Heavenly Father’s enemies, and he keenly identified the graffiti’s link to the evil gods in hell. Thus, he immediately contacted Keith.

This coincided with the emergence of the strange fog not long ago, so Keith took it seriously. However, the investigation led nowhere, resulting in today’s ‘chance encounter’.

Wayne nodded to himself, confirming that Keith had long known about the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s activities. He couldn’t have invited Darcy to investigate Southern Cambrook County on a whim.

This devious old man. He abandoned Darcy as soon as he realized that Darcy wasn’t good enough, and now he seeks me out to play the new cannon fodder!

Having figured out Keith’s plan, Wayne decided to make an excuse and get out of here. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to help, but even a starving camel was bigger than a horse. No matter how much the Church of Heavenly Father was suppressed by the royal family, its foundation remained.

When people talked about ‘God’ in Chosen Land, they weren’t referring to the goddesses, but specifically to the Creator—the Heavenly Father was the one true God.

“The Thousand-eyed Demon is one of the seventy-two demon lords of hell...”

Keith began explaining the worship of evil gods of hell. Wayne didn’t rush to speak, but quietly listened for a while before asking, “Bishop Keith, I once encountered the followers of Blood Worship. What status does the evil god of blood hold in hell?”

“The Lord of Blood, also known as the Blood Tyrant, is one of the seventy-two demon lords...”

“The demon lords vary in strength, each with their territories and forces, and they are constantly at war.”

“The Blood Tyrant can only be considered mid-tier among the demon lords, but he has a terrifying father!” Keith’s expression turned grave. “His father is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the seven great demon lords ruling supreme in hell, corresponding to the seven Archangels. He is the demon lord of wealth and desires, whom we generally call the Lord of Greed.”

(一`´一;)

Lord of what again?

Wayne instinctively glanced at the Book of Greed inside his body. Could it be that his cheat was related to the demon lord who governed desires?

The book rolled its large eyeball, expressing dissatisfaction with his guess. A mere demon lord dared to use a moniker that coincided with its name? It would go to hell and devour the demon lord.

No, Wayne was never going to hell, not in this lifetime. He would rather crawl into a goddess’s bed!

His curiosity was piqued. He asked Keith to elaborate on the seven demon lords, especially the Lord of Greed.

“Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust are the seven great demon lords in hell, the origin of all original sins.” Julien took over the explanation. His knowledge in theology far exceeded Bishop Keith’s, and when it came to faith in the evil gods in hell, he was more well-versed.

“The Lord of Greed dwells in the golden kingdom in hell, tempting people to fall through money and power. Their magic is pervasive. As long as money and power exist in the world, the Lord of Greed can never be destroyed.”

“The Lord of Greed’s symbols are ravens and foxes...”

Julian talked about each demon king in detail, going from greed to pride, then wrath, sloth, envy, and gluttony.

...So what about Lust? Why won’t you mention that one?

It wasn’t that Wayne wanted to know. He was asking for a friend.

Additionally, if the Seven Demon Lords were conceptual existences, he was pretty certain that Lust would be the most powerful among the seven demon kings based on the real world.

“Finally, there’s Lust.”

Julien gulped. His mouth was dry from all the talking, but looking up at the visible thirst for knowledge in Wayne’s eyes, he had a feeling that he should continue.

“Ahem!” Keith cleared his throat, telling him to get to the point. They had digressed too much.

Julien slapped his forehead, returning to the original subject, giving Wayne a detailed description of the Thousand-Eyed Demon.

“The Thousand-Eyed Demon appears as half human, half bug, with thousands of legs and thousands of eyes. According to records, cultists who worship the Thousand-Eyed Demon can extract others’ souls and thoughts, converting their power for their own use...”

I wanna hear about Lust!

Wayne shot Keith a glare. He had been waiting so long for the dean to get to the most terrifying and insidious one of the seven demon kings, but the topic was shifted back to the Thousand-eyed Demon. Seriously, what was so scary about a thousand legs? The real terror was two legs. Throughout history, countless heroes and villains alike had met their demise at the legs of a beauty.

That said, Wayne couldn’t help but become curious about the Thousand-Eyed Demon. Extracting others’ souls and thoughts and converting them for personal use? That seemed pretty cool.

He wondered if the demon could extract four elements from others.

He remembered Planck saying that during the Silver Cross stage, mages still had to obtain the four elements through meditation to strengthen their life essence. During the hexagram stage, his consumption of the four elements had already been incredible. The Silver Cross stage would only require more. The thought alone was terrifying.

If a follower of the Thousand-Eyed Demon could extract four elements from others, he wouldn’t mind worshipping the helpful god.

“The Thousand-Eyed Demon’s symbols are centipedes, millipedes, and house centipedes, lurking in the dark, damp places. The demon’s followers share the characteristics of the bugs, hiding in darkness and never exposing themselves to light...”

Julian was halfway through when Bishop Keith interrupted, “The millipede infestation is the same. If I’m not mistaken, the dark mage we caught last night wasn’t the mastermind, but only a pawn being used.”

Keith had captured several similar pawns before, though they hadn’t caused as much ruckus as Quinton.

A mysterious being was hiding in Cambrook County and could be considered Keith’s old adversary; only the opponent knew everything about him, while Keith hadn’t even known what they looked like or which evil god they worshipped. Only after finding the statue of the Thousand-Eyed Demon did he confirm the person’s faith. He looked at Wayne with focused eyes and extended an invitation solemnly.

“The Church of Heavenly Father’s power in Windsor is weak, so I hope to receive help from the Church of Nature. Archdeacon Wayne, while our faiths differ, we protect the same thing. You’re a powerful Silver-rank mage. I hope you’ll be willing to lend a hand.” Keith’s tone grew increasingly impassioned as he talked.

(눈_눈)

That sounded familiar. He had just used the same spiel on Darcy last night. Had Keith installed a camera in the library’s basement?

“I can help you out, but I won’t participate in the investigation, only in the capture of the culprit. Moreover, everything I do will have nothing to do with my identity as an Archdeacon of the Church of Nature.”

Keith was overjoyed.

“Also, since I’m participating as a mercenary of sorts, let’s not talk about justice and a noble cause.” Wayne extended a hand, spreading it before Bishop Keith like it was expected. “Be realistic. What’s your offer?”

Yes, Wayne was interested in the absorbing technique and the followers of the Thousand-Eyed Demon, but that alone wasn’t enough. If he simply agreed, it would make him seem like a naive pushover.

In business, the price either had to be reputation or profit. Asking for rewards wasn’t shameful.

Looking at his fair palm, both Julian and Keith fell silent, especially Keith. He couldn’t figure out why the higher-ups had told him to voluntarily let Wayne rip him off. Satisfy any of his demands? What, if Wayne asked for the Holy Shroud, a sacred relic of the church, should he hand it over as well?

It didn’t make sense. Their faiths were different!

1. In China, girls, especially someone’s precious daughters, are often compared to cabbages, and the suitors would be boars trying to dig up the cabbages. ☜