Myths Reawakened

“Ah!”

After an exultant cry, Moma, the blonde succubus, collapsed. In the back garden, the Bat Demon swinging his tentacles around became the only one standing.

Father, I have sinned!

Watching the poor victims lying across the garden, Wayne drew a cross before his chest. When he sensed Bat Demon’s exhaustion, he refilled the body with some of his white foam.

Bat Demon could now go another round!

Don’t blame this little bat for everything. Find the blame in yourself.

His replica enjoyed no right and had little voice. Wayne reprimanded him for finding excuses for his wrongdoing. Since life in the Lost Paradise was an endless repetition of the same motions, he planned to seek out Lust in a few days and finalize a deal.

Not immediately. Whoever was more eager in a negotiation would be at a disadvantage. But he couldn’t drag things on for too long, either. He was impersonating Pride, but he wasn’t Pride. He worried that things would spiral out of control if he didn’t make a move soon.

Three—no, five to seven days would be the sweet spot.

The thought of spending another five days amid the group of succubi left Wayne with rueful regrets. If he had a choice, he would like to take down the monsters with a frontal assault. It made him seem like a man with no principles when he attacked from the back one second and from below the next.

While he was lamenting his fate, he saw two demons passing the shaded corridor. He turned to them. The demon in a red dress was Lust, while the man in a black suit... resembled Auston. The impeccable look was obviously a front for a real scumbag.

Wayne eyed the man curiously. He had a smile on his face and an unnervingly focused gaze. Since this was the Lost Paradise, the primary redlight district in Hell, batters wouldn’t just swing one way. Intimidated, Wayne took an involuntary step back.

No thanks. This way isn’t accessible to you. Have a good time.

When he saw Lust’s blazing eyes and the aggressive desire on her face, he became more certain that even if the man didn’t go for the same sex, there would soon be a large-scale brawl, where he and the man would be teaming up to take on Lust and the army of succubi she commanded. That would be beyond depraved.

Wayne refused to partake in such an activity. He was a righteous man with an integrity that compelled him to stay away in silent judgment. He would never follow the flow of filth. He would suggest that Lust show some restraint. Taking on each succubus one by one was his bottom line.

“You seem to be having quite rude thoughts!” Just like Forest in the mortal realm, Pride held a deep distaste for Wayne. He groused, “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the head of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Lord of Pride. We meet again, Wayne.”

The revelation hit Wayne like a truck. He had not acquired a territory and thus had no Authority, making it impossible for him to take on the Seven Demon Lords. He stood zero chance against Pride, the head of the Seven Demon Lords, in particular.

He had escaped Envy’s capture last time, but the same trick wasn’t going to work on Pride.

What was going on? Enguema had gone on a stroll and returned with Envy and Solsknar, exposing his disguise. Lust had gone on a stroll without leaking anything to him, then returned with Pride. Fortune seemed to no longer favor Wayne after he arrived in Hell.

There was no running away from the combination of Pride and Lust. Moreover, this was the Lost Paradise in the Abyss. Not even the Śārim would be able to escape.

Wayne took a silent breath and attempted to amend the situation. “Demon Lord Pride, what an honor. I’m Bat Demon, not Wayne. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

“That’s impossible,” Pride said with a smile, his eyes slightly narrowed. “All of Bat Demon is mine, save for the drop of blood you’ve contributed. I know who you are. The moment that Bat Demon descended into Hell, I was the one who tossed him here.”

Damn it!

“Stop wasting time. Let me take him on first!”

The Lord of Lust was at the end of her patience. With blazing envy in her eyes, she let down her blonde hair and sauntered up to Wayne with the strap of her red evening gown slipping from one shoulder, caught at her upper arm. She would need Wayne’s help with the rest of the undressing.

Wayne took another two steps back. What the hell? Was this how succubi fought?

“Patience, Lust. If he runs away, you’ll never have him.” Pride huffed. Trash could never turn into gold. Their selfish desire prevented them from achieving greatness.

“This is my territory,” Lust snapped. “He can’t run away!”

“No, he must have a way of leaving Hell if he managed to enter Hell. If you don’t believe me, you’re free to give it a try.” Pride’s voice turned icy. He considered Wayne before continuing in a more amicable tone, “Don’t worry. I mean you no harm. I heard Lust said that you’d set your eyes on Gluttony’s and Wrath’s territories, that you wanted to take out and replace one of them to join the Seven Deadly Sins. Is that right?”

“I didn’t say that!”

Wayne shook his head vehemently. It was Bat Demon who had made the ludicrous claim. What did that have to do with Wayne? Bat Demon should be held accoun—forget it. Bat Demon was still a child, and a child’s words shouldn’t be taken seriously.

“Whether you’ve said it or not, I will make you one of the Seven Deadly Sins!”

“...”

Wayne tried and failed to understand Pride’s intention. Wasn’t Pride the head of Hell? Why would he sell out a subordinate to an exorcist? Moreover, where did the misunderstanding that Wayne could escape whenever he wanted come from?

A top demon was difficult to understand!

Not long after, Wayne found himself sitting at the long table in the demon lord’s palace, wearing the skin of Bat Demon while attached to the Lord of Lust. She, in succubus form, sat in his lap with her hands on the table, her blonde hair messy. Across from him, Pride had a glass of wine in his hand, and his smile contained something he alone understood.

Only high society and Hell would be capable of such degeneracy.

Wayne had never once resolved the questions in his head, but he was here already; he might as well grab two handfuls of Lust’s natural handles and have Bat Demon take care of her, doing his best to turn her legs into jelly. Then the fallout would be a little easier to deal with.

For half an hour, Pride said nothing at all. It wasn’t until Bat Demon knocked out Lust in the first round that he glanced at the blonde and parted his lips to mouth, Anointed One, aren’t you excited?

Anointed One? Wayne thought with shock. Why would you, a great demon lord, buy nonsense like that?

All six of Wayne’s eyes widened. He said in exasperation, “Haven’t you misunderstood something, Pride? I’m not—” Then, remembering the order in the mortal realm and Heaven, as well as how important the Anointed One was to the world, he nodded and said instead, “I didn’t expect you to find out when I’ve hidden it so well. As expected of the top demon lord. You’ve got good eyes.”

He realized then why Pride believed that he could come and go freely in Hell. Being the Anointed One would allow that.

“No, I wouldn’t say that. I’m quite narrow-minded, in fact, and never in a millennium would I have found you.” Pride shook his head. “It’s thanks to Hesione. Her unusual behavior told me who you were.”

“Hesione...” Wayne swallowed a groan. A demon had come to see him as the Anointed One because of one angel’s willful assumption. What about the angels? Would they believe him to be the Anointed One because of the demons’ testimony?

The angels said that Wayne was the Anointed One. We can’t go wrong with trusting Heaven.

The demons said that Wayne was the Anointed One. We can’t go wrong with trusting Hell.

It was circular logic and a fallacy!

The two of them conversed without ever saying the words ‘the Anointed One’, while Lust was so busy chasing her dream that she didn’t have the mental faculty to care about the two riddlers. She assumed that they were talking about Heaven’s living weapon.

The bitter look on Wayne’s face made Pride laugh with satisfaction. “Don’t blame Hesione. My old friend has sacrificed much, but she arrogantly believes that she can control you, not knowing that the sacred mission you’re tasked with prevents you from ever being controlled. The fact that you’ve come to Hell alone is the best proof.”

What are you talking about? What have you been filling in the blanks with?

Wayne rolled his eyes, which only made Pride laugh harder.

Being fully in control and being the only one to know the truth sated Pride’s pride. He enjoyed being superior to everyone else.

“Put your back into it. You’re too lazy to be Lust. Even Purity is better at this!” Wayne patted Lust on the backside before looking at Pride with all six of his eyes. “If you know who I am, why would you allow Hell’s worst enemy to get what he wants in Hell? How does that benefit you?”

“Your fall is the biggest benefit.” Pride lowered his glass and narrowed his eyes in pleasure. “Keep doing what you’ve been doing and transform Heaven in your image. That will be the best payment for my investment.”

“Aren’t you worried that I would change?”

“A demon cannot change his sin!”

“Aren’t you worried that I would run?”

“Bat Demon can’t run. He’s a demon, and all demons belong to Hell,” Pride said slowly. “Since the moment you gained a replica in Hell, your connection to Hell cannot be severed. Whatever Heaven has, Hell will have, too, just like how the Seven Deadly Sins correspond to the Seven Sacred Virtues. Isn’t that right?”

“But Heaven has the Heavenly Father, while Hell doesn’t have a great demon god.”

“...”

Pride’s expression darkened. The Heavenly Father was beyond comparison, so Wayne was being unreasonable.

“Fine, I understand what you’re getting at, but I have to say you’re truly the embodiment of pride.” Wayne snorted. “There’s nothing wrong with your plan from Hell’s perspective, but from your perspective, aren’t you worried that I’ll replace you?”

“You, replacing me?!”

“...”

That was the textbook definition of pride. Wayne had only seen such a perfect demonstration of a character trait in Veronica before, who was a textbook definition of tsundere.

She still was. Every time he met her after a stretch of time, she squirmed like it was their first time. He couldn’t even point it out, or she would hit him.

“So, Wayne, do you have any other questions?”

“Yes.” Wayne sighed. “It’s about my sacred mission. It’s a misunderstanding that my goal is to acquire the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s merely a means to an end.”

“I understand that.” Pride nodded seriously.

“No, you don’t.” Wayne shook his head, raised his right hand from Lust’s handle, and manifested a crystal that contained the information of Mechanical Augmentation. He sent it to Pride.

“Take a look. This is why I came to Hell.”

“...”

Pride silently took the crystal. As soon as he sent his thoughts in, he shot to his feet.

Wayne was also surprised. It appeared that Pride had not been corrupted.

That should be expected, though. He was one of the Seven Demon Lords. No amount of clowning from Envy would turn the Seven Demon Lords into worthless titles.