Myths Reawakened

“Bastard, say something. Wayne admitted it. Why do you still refuse to believe me?”

Envy widened his eyes. In pursuit of fairness and justice, he had stood on the opposite end of fairness and justice. He lied! What more did they want him to do?

“This isn’t about whether we believe you, Envy. It’s about the lack of effort.” Sloth remained slumped on the table, shrugging. “Your acting is pretty good today, but your lie lacks effort. The previous times, you’ve even fooled yourself to fool us.”

“You aren’t professional enough!” Greed commented.

“That’s right. Your joke isn’t funny this time.”

“It breaks my heart, Envy. You’ve become worse at telling jokes.”

The demon lords shook their heads. The Lord of Clowns had raised their standards too high. Now that he had gotten rusty, not only couldn’t they laugh, but they also saw the sad future of his declining talent. That wasn’t a joke, but a tragedy.

“You bastards!”

Envy clenched his teeth. When he told the truth, they didn’t believe him, and when he told a lie, they still didn’t believe him. Then, hadn’t he lied for nothing?

“Solsknar, let me ask you something,” Pride said with a scoff. “Did Envy order you to impersonate Wayne and lie?”

“Yes, everything you’ve said is true,” the unlucky soul murmured. That was his answer for everything.

(는_는)

“Allow me to do the honors,” Sloth said eagerly, forgetting his laziness. “Answer me. Is Envy a clown?”

“Yes, everything you’ve said is true.”

(는‸는)

“Hahaha—” x5

“Kekekeke—” x2

Wayne hadn’t been around for long. He realized that the council meeting of demon lords wasn’t what he had expected. If he had known that the atmosphere would be this lively, and the great demon lords would be this entertaining, he would’ve come to Hell earlier.

Oh, how he had been missing out. It broke his heart.

While laughing, though, he noticed a glare boring into him. He turned to find Pride giving him a dark look.

Who do you think you are, laughing in the same way as I do?

I’ve always laughed like this, Wayne retorted.

Pride rolled his eyes and cursed at Wayne in his head. Allowing such scum to be his replica would sooner or later destroy his reputation as a great demon lord.

Meanwhile, the other demon lords had taken turns asking Solsknar questions about the Lord of Clowns, getting the same answer every time. Their unrestrained laughter filled the venue.

“I can’t. I’m laughing so hard that I now have abs.” Sloth wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. “Who would’ve expected a lazy demon like me to get abs?”

“I didn’t expect it either.” Greed slammed the table in agreement. “It turns out that today’s joke is interactive. It’s only complete with our participation, and we’re finally laughing.”

“You’ve worked hard, Envy. I’m never attending any meeting if you’re absent.”

“Well said!”

“...”

Amid their laughter, Envy slumped down in his chair. He had to be sick. He had contracted the illness of being lost. It was so serious that he couldn’t find his way to fairness and justice.

Even so, even if he died and got nailed in a coffin, he would have to yell with his rotten vocal cords: he had not lied before, and Hell owed him an apology.

The mocking laughter rang in his head. He glared at the great demon lords, but couldn’t do anything to them. He thus took it out on Solsknar.

With a violent wave, he decimated Solsknar’s chaotic thoughts, allowing the wind to scatter the ashes.

“That’s it?”

“I was going to ask more questions.”

“Envy is too petty...”

The demon lords complained. The meeting had come to an end, and they had enjoyed another happy day.

None of them rose to leave, though. They waited for Pride to conclude the meeting—he would beat up Envy first before giving a closing remark. A council meeting of the demon lords wasn’t complete until Pride beat up Envy!

Pride didn’t do that, though. At least he wouldn’t do that now. The conversation earlier was only a warm-up performance. The real meeting was just getting started.

He scanned the room before exchanging looks with Lust.

So? Have you bedded him into submitting?

No, he changes his tune every time after he puts his pants back on.

You failed, you mean.

Not really. He’d still love to spend himself in me.

Pride nodded. That was in line with his impression of the Anointed One. He told Lust to work harder. If she could bed Wayne into staying in Hell voluntarily, she could negotiate for anything, including the cantos of the Seven Deadly Sins!

Pride was being serious, but since demons had no credibility, and he had thrown Lust under the bus before, she didn’t take his promise seriously.

She had realized that both Pride and Wayne were demons who claimed the wares without paying anything. One of them used his mouth, and the other used his hands, but both were working together to take her body for nothing.

She would swallow the loss she had suffered, but Wayne would have to pay for their subsequent interactions. She didn’t care who would be paying. Pride was welcome to foot the bill. But she demanded proper payment!

She swatted away the hand on her chest. Stop groping. You haven’t settled the account yet!

“Today, I gathered you here not just to appreciate the latest hellish jokes, but for something important.” Pride unbuttoned his sleeves. “It’s about the Seven Deadly Sins and the future development of Hell.”

The demon lords stiffened. Pride’s dark tone suggested that someone was taking the fall today.

Suppressing their panic, they feigned nonchalance for fear of standing out like a lamb to be roasted.

Lust, who knew the truth, became nervous as well. Being in the know was one thing, and being targeted was another matter. Knowing the truth wouldn’t stop her from becoming a dish on the dining table.

“There are Seven Deadly Sins in Hell, and the Divine Comedy of the Seven Deadly Sins is what makes Hell and the Seven Demon Lords. It’s because of our sins that Hell continues to exist.”

Pride’s expression darkened further. “I thought we would continue in peace—the seven of us. Unfortunately, some people couldn’t accept the status quo and wished to boss the others around.”

Are you not talking about yourself? x7

“I’m not talking about myself!” Pride said icily. “I’ve never pointed fingers at your territories, but the traitors among us are different. The two of them not only want to become the great demon gods, but they also want to corrupt all of Hell to turn all demons into slaves.”

“They?”

The demon lords looked around in shock, finding everyone suspicious.

Gluttony and Wrath stiffened, but they were good enough actors to hide their terror behind a poker face.

“Gluttony and Wrath, you acquired a new Law in the human world, named Mechanical Augmentation. Am I right?” Pride revealed the answer rather than talking in riddles.

The two demon lords shot to their feet at the same time, their hearts pounding.

“Pride, you know me,” Gluttony said hurriedly. “I may be a glutton who eats everything, but I’ve always been cautious with Laws. I’m not a traitor.”

Wrath started defending himself as well. “You know me, Pride. I’ve always been straightforward and honest with my feelings. I don’t lie as Envy does. When I say I’m not a traitor, I’m really not.”

While they defended themselves, they also wondered in fear how Pride had learned of the truth, even naming the specific Law. Could it be... that there was more than one rival? Had Pride acquired the Law, too?

The demon lords who were unrelated to the matter sighed in relief. At the same time, they dragged their chairs away from Gluttony and Wrath, enjoying the way they found excuses for themselves.

They’d better fight! Even better if one of them dies! x4

No, the best-case scenario will be Pride taking on the two of them and dying in the process of killing them. x5

“Fools. You’ve brought such dangerous information to Hell, thinking you’ve acquired the key to becoming a demon god. You don’t know that the evolution already has a master. They’re using you to corrupt Hell completely!” Pride’s eyes glinted with black light.

“Impossible!” x2

Gluttony and Wrath denied the claim at the same time. Then Gluttony said, “You needn’t make false accusations against us, Pride. If you want to become the great demon god, just say it.”

Wrath nodded in agreement. “Yes, you’ve always been the head of the Seven Deadly Sins, and someone as prideful as you cannot tolerate anyone else outpacing you. That is the truth.”

“Oh, are you not going to deny further that you’ve acquired Mechanical Augmentation?” Pride asked calmly.

“We don’t have to deny it,” Gluttony said proudly. “We demons never find shame in power!”

Wrath scoffed. Machines had both a cold aspect and a hot aspect. After acquiring information on Mechanical Augmentation, Wrath and Gluttony had experienced a power jump and no longer saw Pride as a threat.

Even if Pride didn’t flip the table and confront them today, one of them would flip the table sooner or later. There was nothing to fear. In Hell, they let their fists do the talking. If Pride thought so highly of himself, take them on!

Gluttony looked at Wrath, and Wrath looked at Gluttony. They agreed to a ceasefire and formed an alliance against Pride.

“Since you admitted to gaining information on Mechanical Augmentation, things are much simpler now...”

Pride closed his fingers, and a translucent crystal suddenly appeared in his hand, containing the information that he had gotten from Wayne. Seeing the crystal, Gluttony and Wrath immediately deflated, their pupils contracting.

Not only had Pride acquired the information, but he had also acquired the evolution. If they had all evolved, they might not be Pride’s match.

This is all a misunderstanding. If you just said that you had the ware, we would’ve sat down and talked to you properly.

We apologize. You should forgive us.

Gluttony and Wrath quieted with a storm of thoughts raging in their heads. While playing the coward, they speculated how much information Pride had gained.

If Pride had gotten more or as much as they had, the matter was simple. They would be the first to support Pride as the head of the Seven Deadly Sins. If Pride had gotten less or only a little of the information, forgive them. Power was law in Hell, and a weaker Pride had no right to be the leading demon lord.

“Trash, you really believe you’ve gained a great profit!”

Pride stared at the two icily, sentencing them to death. With a wave, he sent the crystal toward the Lord of Envy... and it stopped next to him, in front of the Lord of Greed.

(는皿는)

Envy seethed. If Pride was going to send the crystal toward him, why not stop before him? Did Pride envy his talent in comedy?

Greed caught the crystal and read the information inside, hit with a bout of ecstasy. He wanted to claim Mechanical Augmentation for himself. He wanted to go down the evolution path with unlimited potential. Once he became a great demon god, he would take Hell for himself and invade Heaven, stepping on all other gods...

“Are you done with it, Greed?” Pride asked faintly.

Greed shuddered. The moment he came to himself, the greed on his face gave way to shock and terror. The Seven Deadly Sins had failed to resist Mechanical Augmentation. The demonic body and thoughts he was so proud of had mutated under the influence of the crystal.

“What the heaven is this?!” Greed screamed, cutting off his corrupted thoughts and expelling the corruption.

Pride’s eyes gleamed with black light. He would not tolerate any part of Hell to be corrupted. He ignited the corrupted discharge and burned it to ashes with a gaze.

Greed was still reeling from the scare, his expression complicated. He craved a more powerful evolution path, but feared that someone had already gone further down the path, such as Gluttony, Wrath, and... Pride.

“Pride, are you sure that Mechanical Augmentation has a master?” Greed couldn’t just give up.

“Only a fool believes in a free lunch!” Pride said coldly.

“Damn it, what did you see? Explain!” Envy condemned the riddlers. Grabbing the crystal from Greed, he said, “Let me see. What does it look like...”

“Sour grapes shouldn’t be eaten! What the heaven is this?!”

“Take it away! Now!”

Envy tossed the crystal away hurriedly. As Greed had done, he discharged the corruption. While Pride was burning the discharge, the crystal fell into Sloth’s hands.

Sloth blinked. He suspected that the demon lords were acting and banding together to take out Gluttony and Wrath. After testing it, though, he took Pride’s side without hesitation.

Lust rejected her turn. She had been through the suffering before, so she wasn’t going to ask for it again.

The atmosphere shifted suddenly. The five demon lords stared at Gluttony and Wrath, who scowled and wondered how things had turned out like this.

“Where did you get the information, Pride? Why do you know everything? Are you the master of the Law?”

“I’m not. As for where I got the information from... The two of you puppets should worry about yourselves,” Pride said with steel in his voice. “You may supersede me and become the head of the Seven Demon Lords. I wouldn’t care. However, you’ve taken such dangerous information back to Hell and shown such ignorance and pride. You...”

“Deserve death!”