“Yes, she pursued me because I was the Moonlight Knight. We soon got together.” Wayne smiled, reminiscing about a fabricated memory while he once again pictured Filomina putting on a sheet mask.

Envious, Filomina gritted her teeth and stood up to hold Wayne’s arm. “I love you. Be with me!”

Love me? You don’t even want my body!

Wayne shook his head and pushed her away. “I’m sorry. My heart is occupied and doesn’t have room for more people. You’re a good woman. I don’t deserve you.”

The roundabout rejection infuriated Filomina. Her eyes turned bloodshot, and her knuckles went white as the single-edged sword trembled in her grip. How could there be no room for her? If Wayne just forgot the other Filomina from the outer world, wouldn’t there be space for her?

She was so jealous of her other self that it hurt. That Filomina lived in a peaceful world, happily married to a loving husband, and they even had a child. She, on the other hand, had nothing, and it was all she could do to look into the mirror!

Jealousy begot resentment. She wished from the bottom of her heart that she could destroy her other self’s happiness.

Wayne had thoughtlessly painted himself as a devoted husband, and when he realized it, Filomina’s crimson eyes were already filled with a vicious desire for destruction and bloodshed, almost distorted.

Uh-oh!

Wayne slapped her in the face and infused her with the light of the moon, using the different faith magics of Moonlight to dispel negativity, cleanse darkness, stabilize psyche, and solidify thoughts, barely calming her down.

The faith magics weren’t terribly effective; their efficiency was significantly weakened, perhaps due to the nature of the inner world. If Wayne hadn’t had so much raw power to tap into, he might not have succeeded in restoring her mind.

Filomina panted, her drenched blonde hair sticking to her flushed face and slim neck. “I envy her. I should have what she has.”

“There’s no room.”

“You can try. I’m better than her!”

“Fine. I’ll try.”

The powder keg-like inner world was so volatile that Wayne didn’t dare to push the persona of a devoted lover further. When Filomina held onto his arm once more, he put on a forced smile and pretended to enjoy it as a scumbag.

Filomina felt another bout of jealousy. She knew why Wayne was so concerned about her feelings—not because he liked her, but because he liked the other her.

This Filomina was nothing but a pathetic substitute, only receiving favorable treatment because she shared the same appearance as his Filomina.

Nevertheless, it was a good start. If her other self could win Wayne over, she could, too.

“Darling, you’ve taken back White Night Creed and become the Moonlight Knight once more,” Filomina said. “How did the Moonlight followers react? Have they pledged their loyalty to you?”

“They have.“

“Where are they?” Filomina’s eyes lit up. She had bottled up so much negative emotion that she needed to shed blood to destress.

“I didn’t accept their pledge.”

“???”

“Their loyalty is so cheap that it was only loyalty in name. In truth, it was a prelude to betrayal. I was irritated into killing them all.” Wayne shrugged. As expected of Filomina, her bosom created the same airtight seal.

“You-you killed them all...” Filomina grimaced from the loss. “You may find them below your standards, but in this post-apocalyptic world, having a faction is better than doing everything on your own.”

She suddenly remembered then that Wayne had come from the surface world. Clutching his arm, she said with barely contained emotions, “You can get out of the inner world, can’t you?”

“I think I can.” Wayne nodded. He planned to head to Londan and look for the Ministry of Magic’s research in the projection barrier at the headquarters. Perhaps someone had done the research and failed to reverse engineer a way to send people from the inner world to the outer world, but the space in suburban Londan was unstable, with a crack through which he had been projected. That might be an out.

If nothing worked, he would just look for Darienne. She had entered the inner world on her own; she could naturally get out.

He just had to take down Wayne the Death Knight before leaving! If he had more time, he would devour all the divine artifacts of the chosen knights to accelerate his evolution while he was at it.

While formulating his plan, Wayne noticed the seal on his arm strengthening under Filomina’s increased pressure. He slowly said, “If possible, I’ll take you with me, but be ready. I’ve never heard of anyone going from the inner world to the surface world.”

“That’s because they have already replaced their other selves in the surface world!” Filomina said with certainty.

The delusion was so easily breakable that Wayne would like to poke it, but he didn’t have the heart when he looked at the familiar face. He swallowed his words and said instead, “Let’s go to Londan. There may be a way for us out of the inner world.”

“The journey will be dangerous!”

“From what?”

“From mages who have been corrupted by the flesh of Astral Beasts...”

“I’m not afraid of that. I’m more insidious than they are.” Wayne extracted his arm and patted Filomina on the bottom, telling her to brief him on the situation in the inner world as they walked.

Filomina attributed the slap to intimacy between the couple, and out of envy for her other self, she allowed it. Whatever the other Filomina had, she wanted; whatever that Filomina didn’t have, she wanted, too!

On their way to Londan, Filomina explained the changes that had happened over the past two years. When the inner world first formed, the influence of negative information hadn’t spread, and people were able to barely retain their rationality.

When your neighbors stock up on supplies, stock up on firearms. Then your neighbors will be your stock of supplies!

Soon, negative information reached the depths of human hearts, and society collapsed. Robbery was no longer limited to individuals but the plundering of resources between nations and churches.

How dare you leave without killing my whole family?

It didn’t make sense, but it was how negative information influenced the human heart. Everyone lost their mind at the edge of destruction, and they aimed to destroy either others or themselves. There was no in-between.

Mages were no exceptions. Those with stable balance could still hold on, but those with strong desires or unstable balance fell apart in the beginning. Negative information snowballed, and avalanches came. Aside from the chosen knights, who could barely retain their rationality, everyone else ended up swayed by their negative emotions.

Under the circumstances, the brainless Astral creatures stepped up and followed the desires to devour in their hearts, roaming the Chosen Land and hunting the regular people struggling to survive in bunkers, as well as mages who found themselves alone.

The sources of the Astral creatures were apparent: there was no shortage of buyers for the flesh of Astral Beasts in the world since it was one of the evolution paths. The churches and the ministries of magic of different nations naturally had some in their possession.

When the end of the world came about, mages with dark thoughts shattered the seals and released the flesh.

Soon, Wayne saw a pale whale at the port. The magnificent creature opened its maw, and tentacles poured out.

Not long after, Wayne and Filomina rode on the whale ship and set sail for Londan, Windsor.

Though both were Astral creatures, Wayne was more persuasive and managed to daze the whale with a few choice words, convincing it to give the two a free ride through the ocean.

***

Londan, Windsor.

The metropolis was now in ruin. Wilted black vines covered the broken walls, and dust and rust obscured the beautiful surfaces of the city. All the eyes could see was charred land, with a hint of lingering smoke and heat.

The shops lining the streets were in tatters. Houses had collapsed, and cars were burned and rendered empty shells. Roaming the streets were wild dogs seeking remains and packs of scavenger birds.

Compared to Palis, Londan was obviously more lively.

Rumbling engines announced the arrival of a tank sputtering black smoke, followed closely by two military trucks. Mages armed with firearms jumped out and searched for usable supplies. They had explored the street many times, thoroughly combing through every inch each time so that they wouldn’t miss anything.

Boom!

Scorching sacred flames plummeted from the sky like a precise missile, hitting the tank with a piercing whoosh. Firelight splattered with thick rolling smoke, carrying the pungent smell of charcoal. The metal shell was torn violently, the material groaning in blazing flames.

The tank was set aflame in an instant by intense heat. The shockwaves of the explosion triggered violent gusts that brought dust and broken stones up before raining down in all directions.

Amid the flames, the tank became distorted. As two rays of white light descended, the military trucks transporting the soldiers met the same fate, turning into burning torches one after another.

The military team of mages raised their guns at the sky, their barrages of bullets crossing in the air. The smell of gunpowder thickened.

In the air, a humanoid figure with two white wings cackled out loud. Her head was obviously avian. From her slim, pale torso, two pairs of arms stretched into sharp avian claws, wielding spears of Holy Light as she weaved through the bullets.

She seemed to be in no hurry to kill the mages below. Smelling the thick smell of gunpowder and fear, her crimson eyes brimmed with bloodlust.

Just then, a pillar of white light hit her from afar. She raised her sacred spear, but the last-second defense didn’t stop her from plunging into the ruin below, bringing up dust.

Flutter!

Another avian-human hybrid flew over from a distance, sharing almost the same traits save for her height and build. Moreover, the newcomer wielded a white greatsword with golden cross patterns. It looked holy and dignified, far from a regular weapon.

The Oath Sword!

“Elizabeth, it’s so easy to lure you out. Have you lost your mind?” The latecomer spoke in human language, her voice cold and clear. It obviously belonged to a woman.

The other avian figure with white wings soared back into the sky from the ruin, stirring up violent storms and parting the dust in the area. Elizabeth—Juno, Wayne’s first test subject—stared at her worst enemy with surging red light in her eyes. She intoned with thick killing intent, “Sophelia, what are you doing in my territory rather than begging under the crotch of your Master Darkness?”

“I’m killing you to avenge my son!”

“Really? But you killed my brother!” Juno stared warily at the Oath Sword in Sophelia’s grip. She raised her spear, which radiated blinding light.

It was a call to arms. There were no armies of thousands in Londan for her to call on, but those who were able to defend against negative information and maintain fighting power were no easy opponents.

In the blink of an eye, another ‘angel’ appeared beside Juno. She had two wings, a pale body, an octopus head, long hair that writhed like tentacles, and two arms with no joints. Her lower body... She had no lower body.

The ‘angel’ was Juno’s fiancé, Alistair. The three angels faced off in the air, the Queen on one side, the Princess and the Princess Consort on the other side. The Princess had the advantage in numbers, while the Queen had the better weapon!

“Sophelia, this is my trap. Leave your sword and blood behind!”

Far in the distance, a knight in black armor rode out of a portal on his undead horse. His armor was covered in scratches from battle. Black smoke rose from his skull, on which a crack stretched from his eye socket to his upper jawbone.

He was the Death Knight—Wayne!