Myths Reawakened

“Why don’t we invade Hell together?”

“Stop your nonsense!”

“I’m being dead serious...”

Above the deep ocean, five rays of light intersected and collided. Every impact sent a sharp, blinding light flying. Incredible power rippled out, tearing a thousand-meter-long rift in the air. Black, turbulent currents ravaged the sky and the land, creating heavy, dark clouds and triggering violent tsunamis and vortexes.

In the east, a barrier of Holy Light slowly rose to block the rumbling waves, ensuring that the ocean on the other side wouldn’t be hit. Although the Republic of Erland was so far away that not even the tallest waves would hit the island, it was better safe than sorry. The beats of a butterfly’s wings did not follow a set logic.

On the other side of the barrier of Holy Light, a white magic circle spanning ten meters in diameter hovered in the air. Wayne was still in his chair, sitting in the center of the magic circle. Behind him was a solemn Hestia.

Since he was dressed in all black with paleness filling his body, and Hestia looked very much like Lust, it appeared as if Pride’s allies were waiting to steal his kills.

Pride and four Virtues had left through a portal. Detecting the spatial disturbances, Wayne had found his way to the battlefield with Hestia in tow, watching the fight play out.

It was four against one. The angels had the advantage in numbers and should theoretically gain the upper hand, but their opponent was the Lord of Pride. He had descended to the human world a long time ago, even gaining Heaven’s blood through the Windsor family to unlock his angelic evolution and grow six wings.

It was so obviously a conspiracy that Wayne decided to come along. Perhaps he would get to steal a kill at a critical moment.

Filomina remained in Buckingham Palace. She would like to witness the fight between the Seven Sacred Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins, but as a legendary mage, her level of power put her in an awkward place—she wasn’t weak, but she wasn’t strong enough. Wayne thus left her behind.

Worried that her ego would feel bruised, Wayne promised to seek her out tonight and grovel properly. Only when Filomina gracefully stepped away did he realize that the legendary mage was aware of her limitations. She had only shown enough reluctance to make him promise her three times.

Three times was her limit. The High Reverend of Moonlight couldn’t take any more of his hard work, not much more than her student, Kristen, could.

Two rays of white light approached. Then the winged figures landed on the magic circle, tucking their wings in. Seeing Olga and Fred, Hestia side-stepped to block her two colleagues from getting closer to her superior.

“Are you not going to join the fight, Śār Hesione?” Fred asked respectfully.

The three Thrones had never once suspected Wayne. The four Virtues had covered for each other, and their preconceptions made them believe unwaveringly that Wayne was Hesione, and Mona was an artificial angel bearing his stigma. As for what the demon had said...

A demon’s words shouldn’t be trusted. If an angel bought what came out of a demon’s mouth, it would be Heaven’s greatest catastrophe.

“I don’t feel like doing it yet...” Wayne turned to the two Thrones. Fred was the man named Derrida that he had worked with before, making him somewhat of an acquaintance. As for Olga, who had reincarnated into Serceris, he had met her in Palis, but hadn’t really held a proper conversation with her.

She was a ten out of ten in appearance with stunning features and a well-proportioned figure. Dressed in a white clergywoman’s robe, she looked bookish and beautiful in a reserved, sage-like way, in stark contrast with Hestia.

According to Hestia, Olga was Mikhael’s subordinate, and she only listened to Auriel’s command at the moment because Auriel was a close ally of Mikhael.

“Śār Hesione, is there something wrong with me?” Olga asked carefully.

“No, but I’m worried that a demon has infiltrated our ranks. I knew Derrida from before, while I don’t know you. Well...” Wayne frowned. “Show me your stigma so that I can confirm you aren’t an imposter.”

Olga realized with resignation that because of the conflicts between the Seraphim, she was being picked on.

“A moment, please.” She took two steps forward and lifted the hem of her robe, tugging on her waistband to show Wayne the stigma on her lower abdomen.

Juno, the shameless princess, had once said that she was so busy checking out Olga’s golden carpet that she failed to get a clear look at the stigma. Wayne wanted to see the symbol of Mikhael’s legion of angels for himself.

Soon, Wayne saw the carpet. It was indeed gold—bah, he saw the cross-shaped stigma of Mikhael’s legion, he meant, and it was gold.

Consisting of a sacred lance and two sacred swords, the stigma lay prostrate amid a cluster of golden bushes. While sparse, the bushes had been trimmed regularly, showing the owner’s enthusiasm for life and preference for the natural way—

Bam!

A ray of golden light shot through the barrier of Holy Light and slammed into Wayne. He was studying Mikhael’s mark to analyze the kind of angel Mikhael was, wondering if he was indeed a Humility more prideful than Pride, as Pride had said, when he heard the whoosh. He reflexively caught the projectile without even looking up.

The incredible inertia sent him and the magic circle moving two meters backward.

Hestia blinked in shock as she found herself in Wayne’s arms. She was about to say something to defuse the awkwardness when she got an eyeful of Olga’s stigma.

“Oh! Oh? Oh—”

Hesione almost exploded with rage. She grabbed Wayne’s face, her eyes blazing with fury.

I was fighting for my life at the front, yet you’re indulging in your shameful kink here? Do you know who she is? She’s my archenemy’s subordinate!

Yeah, Wayne thought calmly. I am you, so I’m picking on your archenemy’s subordinate. Makes perfect sense.

Incorrigible!

Hesione would like to slap Wayne in the face. She had wanted to do it when Filomina sat on his lap, but she had to show Wayne some respect with all the witnesses around earlier. Now that there were fewer eyes on them—none of them human—it was time to do some slapping.

She raised her hand. Since she couldn’t blame the Anointed One, she picked on an easier target. “What are you doing, letting a shameless Throne taint the Śār’s eyes? What have you been protecting?”

What’s wrong with a Throne? Hestia huffed, stating the beliefs she had newly built on top of her ruined morality. “Because of this? The Śār has been through so much. What hasn’t he seen?”

“...”

She’s so sensible I can’t say anything, Hesione groused.

Olga lowered her robe calmly, speaking at a deliberate pace. “Clergywoman, Śār Auriel told me that Śār Hesione granted you power to draw the demons’ attention rather than because he covets your beauty. Please keep that in mind and not judge us angels from your narrow point of view.”

“...”

You’re also being very sensible.

“Moreover, your feelings for Śār Hesione aren’t pure, consisting mostly of possessiveness. You admire and desire him, which constitutes the sin of greed. I hope that you’ll recognize your mistake early and avoid repeating it.” Olga shook her head, not sparing Hesione another glance.

“...”

Thrones are annoying!

When someone was at the top of the world, they would be surrounded by friends showering them with warm words. When someone was at rock bottom, they would find only jeer and mockery everywhere. It was true of the human world, and it was true of Heaven.

In the past, Hesione thought of Thrones as hard workers who knew the right things to say, but now, she just wanted to kill them!

Soon, another Throne joined ‘them’!

Fred frowned at Hesione. “Clergywoman, get off the Śār’s lap. His trust and favor aren’t supposed to be the foundation of your pride. You’re bringing him shame!”

“...”

Hesione rolled her eyes. To not bring ‘Hesione’ shame, she jumped off her VIP seat.

Then she was promptly pulled back.

Wayne grabbed her chin and kissed her, murmuring unclearly, “Pride is too powerful. Gerar and Vilkul aren’t his match, and only Auriel, who’s awakened the fullest, could take on him. I’ll give you all of my stigma. Continue to impersonate me and don’t bring shame to the name of Hesione.”

Hesione struggled a little as her power returned to her amid wet noises. Sensing three derisive gazes, she grabbed Wayne by the shoulders and went harder.

“Enough already. I’ve given all of my power...” Wayne struggled to pull back. Then he patted her on the backside and urged her to go after the demon already. If she couldn’t win, ask for his help. Though he wasn’t particularly powerful, he was somewhat of an expert in taking on demons.

Hesione wiped the lipstick smeared on the corners of her mouth. When she saw the three Thrones glaring at her, she pecked Wayne again.

So I’ve humiliated Purity. So what? What are you gonna do?

Huffing, Hesione flew away with her six wings. Her behavior was so catty and shameless that Hestia couldn’t bear it, and even Olga and Fred felt a sympathetic rage.

“Śār Hesione, you’ve been too indulgent with the clergywoman. That’s not good. You’re spoiling her.”

“She’s baring her teeth at Thrones today. Then she will scowl at Seraphim tomorrow. If she offends the Anointed One in the future, you’ll be punished, too.”

“You should discipline her!”

The Thrones expressed their grievances about the clergywoman.

“You aren’t envious of her, are you?”

“...” x3

“I’m not!”

“Definitely not!”

“Impossible!”

“Then that must be it.” Wayne shrugged. They should keep it up. The louder they insulted Hesione, the faster Hesione fell. Hell rewarded people based on their merits. Soon enough, the Seven Demon Lords would be awarding the Thrones.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle above the ocean lasted two hours. Pride took on four Virtues and managed to put up a fight, but two hands couldn’t possibly match eight hands, and he gradually lost his advantage. In the end, he lost entirely.

A golden beam of light soared into the sky, cutting through the night sky with impossible radiance. Mist permeated the air above the ocean. Rainstorms stirred the water into violent waves, amid which Pride barely kept his sword up, covered in blood.

All six of his wings had been cut off, and his body was decimated from the waist down. In addition to his kidneys, he had even lost his sack. He had been rendered thoroughly impotent.

At this point, there was no chance for Pride to win. He tipped his head and laughed. “Although I haven’t found the Anointed One, I saw the four of you here, which means there aren’t enough combatants in Heaven. This is Hell’s best chance to invade Heaven. Just wait. Once I open the Gate of Hell, I’ll fill Heaven with blood.”

The four Virtues panted heavily, their hearts heavy as they watched Pride stay stubbornly alive. Pride was sending his partial thoughts back to Hell, and there was nothing they could do. They could only watch as important information was transferred back to Pride’s main body in Hell.

Thinking about how Pride would find different ways to enter the mortal realm gave the four angels a headache; thinking of the lacking defense power in Heaven made their headaches worse.

“Pride, I’ll ask you one last time,” Auriel declared. “Who told you about the Anointed One?”

There was a traitor in Heaven. They had to find the truth and dispense proper punishment!

“Who else but you?” Pride showed Auriel his stigma. “Without you, old friend, it wouldn’t have been so easy for me to go to Heaven...”

“Shut up. You stole the stigma with trickery!” Auriel retorted. He wanted to kill Pride right this moment, but worried that they would lose the chance to get any clues.

“Don’t think too much of it. We have a lot of time. We will see each other again. You will not and cannot take my life now...” Pride smiled pridefully. “The existence that can kill me has not emerged. You can’t do it, and Mikhael definitely cannot. I alone am entitled to killing myself.”

Without giving the four Virtues any chance to attack him, he raised his arms and wrapped himself in golden light. A giant sphere suddenly formed and expanded to a thousand meters in diameter.

“Old friends, I look forward to meeting you in Heaven...”

“Kekekeke—”

Boom!!!

Far away in Londan, Forest was sitting inside his immeasurably expensive mansion. Due to the recent economic depression, college graduates faced unemployment problems as soon as they stepped out of school. He easily found himself two new secretaries by taking a stroll outside the school gate.

He took the cigar that one secretary handed him and put it between his teeth. Suddenly, he shuddered.

“Ouch...”

The other newly hired secretary looked up at him in apology.

“Not your fault. I’m talking about myself. He blew himself up without warning. What a terrible actor that one is.” He pressed her head down, murmuring, “Anointed One... That sounds important. Should I look for him? What if I find him?”

He faced two paths right now. One led to Hell’s ambitious conquest, and the other led to a plethora of entertainment in the human world. After weighing his options, he chose the human world. Conquest should be the concern of the Pride in Hell. If he needed to worry about it even after coming to the human world, wouldn’t he have come for nothing?

Whatever. To hell with Hell!