Myths Reawakened

The Seven Demon Lords stared at the sludge on the table in surprise. Envy’s eyes widened into saucers, and his mouth opened into a large O. His self-satisfied expression soon morphed into a look of confusion, and a few seconds later, despair.

Oh, no!

“Hahaha—” x5

Five of the demon lords laughed at the joke. They didn’t know what Envy was doing. He was already the champion comedian in Hell. Why would he work so hard to top himself?

He had to be under a lot of stress!

The forever number two of Hell had been unable to defeat Pride. When he finally became the number one of something, he naturally had to do everything in his power to secure his spot.

Thinking about how Envy had gotten on a soapbox and pontificated with such conviction that they believed him for a second, they couldn’t help but nod in admiration. Envy had worked hard!

That won’t be necessary, though. No one’s competing with you to become the number one laughingstock in Hell. We’ll be the first to oppose anyone challenging your spot.

“Impossible. How is this happening... This can’t be...”

Envy staggered and froze, his mind blanking as the world turned white around him. He couldn’t even hear the other demon lords’ laughter.

“Look. He’s still on about it.”

“What did I tell you? Envy has to be the one to tell the jokes. No one else could tell it with such earnestness!”

“Stop it. I’m going to laugh myself to death.”

“Hahaha...” x5

“I caught him. I really did...”

“Believe me!”

Recovering himself, Envy turned to the other demons, unable to even shed tears. “I didn’t lie. Those images are real. Wayne is in Hell, and he is Heaven’s weapon. Hesione is no longer pure. Everything I said is true.”

“Hahaha—” x5

The demon lords wouldn’t listen. They laughed and praised Envy’s acting. Since he had put in the effort to come up with the plot and direct himself, they would forgive him for taking up their valuable time.

After all, it was really funny. The Lord of Clowns fully deserved his moniker!

Envy saw the world spin around him. He murmured things that no one understood and slumped on his chair.

“How did things turn out like this... I locked the space down and used my Authority. I secured the evidence. I should’ve cleared my name. Why did I become a clown again...”

“Where’s my fairness and justice? They should be never absent, shouldn’t they? Why did things always turn out like this...”

Envy looked dejected and lost as if all life had drained from him, and he no longer had any desire or ambition. That only made the other demons happier. They doubled over and almost all died from laughter.

“Pride, why aren’t you laughing?” Greed asked curiously.

The Anointed One is lost. How could I fucking laugh? Do you think I know nothing as you do?

Pride seethed, glaring at Envy, the trashiest among the six pieces of trash. The expert in failure couldn’t even capture Wayne with his Authority?

Pride’s ire made the demons stop laughing. They wanted his opinions. Was Envy telling the truth?

Envy immediately recovered fully like he had found a lifeboat. He said hopefully, “You know everything, Pride. Wayne told me that you met Auriel and Hesione in Londan. You know I wasn’t lying. Tell them that everything I said is true!”

“Shut up, you dumbass!” Pride had no plan of clearing Envy’s name, not now, not ever. “The council meeting of demon lords is the most serious and solemn occasion in Hell, yet you tricked us here again and again. Do you think we have nothing to do, or do you think you’re so powerful that you could fool us without consequences?”

True. Envy has gone too far. We’re all busy! x5

The other demon lords turned to Envy darkly. Although Envy had made them laugh as a clown, it could be seen as Envy succeeding in tricking them repeatedly.

“I didn’t. That’s not—” Envy implored, feeling completely wronged. When the demon lords didn’t believe him, he pointed at Pride and accused, “You know everything. Wayne said that you learned about everything in Londan, but you said nothing. You’re the biggest liar!”

“I called you an idiot, and you actually acted like one.” Pride knocked on the table and said in a hardened tone, “First, there is no Wayne in Hell. It’s still a one-sided claim you made, and you have no evidence to prove that everything is true.”

“Second, even if there is a Wayne in Hell, he’s human and, as you said, connected to Heaven. Could his words be believed?”

Well said! x5

The other demon lords nodded. They would rather believe Pride since Envy seemed to have gotten too lost in his role, thus considering his own script real.

Envy glared at him. “Bastard, you know everything, but you refuse to tell the truth. How very prideful. You envy me!”

He slammed the table and challenged Pride to a duel.

Pride had a lot of pent-up anger, so a duel was just what he needed. He stood up with a scoff and stirred up storms of darkness with his hand raised, throwing Envy off the island in the sky and jumping down for a follow-up attack.

“Light of fear!”

“Take the forbidden ground of Hell and fall into the Abyss!”

The two demon lords yelled out their ultimate moves and fought to the edge of Hell, decimating even the Laws of the Seven Deadly Sins... That would never happen, of course.

Only in Envy’s fantasy could something like that happen. The truth was that Envy wasn’t Pride’s match at all, and the battle could be described as a one-sided abuse.

In no time, Pride returned with full HP and MP. As he took his seat, he unbuttoned his shirt collar calmly, as if nothing had happened.

The five demon lords were both envious and shocked. It had been a while since they last saw Pride this serious. The last time was when he fought Mikhael. It was obvious that Envy had truly infuriated him.

“That’ll end today’s meeting. You better watch yourselves. Joking around in private is one thing, but you will not take those bad habits to an important occasion like the council meeting.” Pride gradually vanished. “It’s because we’re demons that we must respect the objective truths. Keep your head clear. Deceive humans and angels all you want, but don’t deceive yourself as Envy has!”

He glanced at Lust before his departure. Though Wayne was missing, there were clues.

He remembered he had once caught Wayne’s demon replica, the Bat Demon, and as soon as the Bat Demon entered Hell, he had been the first to guide it. He asked where the Bat Demon wanted to go. When it said Greed’s, he had tossed it into Lust’s territory.

He deeply regretted his decision now. The Anointed One had once been within his reach, but he gave him up voluntarily. If he had known that Wayne was the Anointed One rather than a nobody, he would’ve kept the Bat Demon around.

However...

Even the Anointed One could only survive in Hell in Pride’s form!

[Proud.jpg]

After congratulating himself, he combined all the clues at hand and came to a conclusion. The reincarnation altar had been in underground Londan for a long time, but no human other than Wayne had ever reached it, and no one else had reincarnated into Hell. He should’ve known that it wasn’t a coincidence or a stroke of luck; Wayne wasn’t a regular human.

Proof of him being the Anointed One +1

Then he considered how Lust had become lost in lust and had to marvel at how the Anointed One had conquered Lust with lust. Wayne had thought of what no one had ever dared think of and done what no one had ever dared do, surpassing even Pride in audacity.

Most importantly, he had succeeded!

Proof of him being the Anointed One +2

Hesione...

Well, proof +100

To sum up, Wayne was indeed the Anointed One. The Anointed One was in Hell!

That begged the question: was it a coincidence for the Anointed One to fall into Hell? Why did he come to Hell?

Wayne was the Anointed One, and Hesione knew that. She should be guarding him closely rather than letting him venture into Hell...

Wait, was Hesione here?

Pride frowned in deep thought. He knew better than anyone what Heaven’s seal looked like and the back door that the four Great Archangels had left. He knew that Hesione could come and go as she wished. Hell couldn’t keep her.

Hesione wouldn’t have let the Anointed One venture in on his own. She had to be in Hell! If not... that would mean she wasn’t worried about the Anointed One being trapped here. Just like the Great Archangels, he could freely go through the gate, and no demon lords could keep him here.

Pride’s expression darkened. He didn’t want to think about the worst-case scenario, but the truth was that it wouldn’t be easy to keep the Anointed One in Hell.

“He has to stay. At least I have to keep the Bat Demon here...”

“Heaven has an Anointed One, so Hell should, too. That’s only fair!”

“An Anointed One haunted by the Seven Deadly Sins? That would be beyond entertaining...”

Pride knew that he shouldn’t be thinking this, that he was going against the duty of the head of the Seven Deadly Sins and could end up making a grave mistake, but he couldn’t help but get excited. He decided to stake out the Lost Paradise and observe Wayne from a short distance.

“Let’s see what the future of Heaven looks like and what’s so special about him!”

***

Putting that aside, let’s talk about another matter[1].

Forget how enraged Envy was when Pride beat him up. Forget how he swore to pursue justice and start looking for Wayne like a demon possessed. Meanwhile, Mattea had been fleeing and taking occasional breaks, keeping to the obscure paths and taking detours to avoid the territories and main roads. She didn’t want to be put in a locked cell.

Hell, with its hellish culture, dictated everyone to act in demonic ways. If someone was freezing in winter, they would take away the person’s firewood; if someone had fallen into a well, they would throw a rock into it. If someone climbed onto a tree, they would take the ladder away. If there was fire, they would seize the chance to loot... A demon would be considered a paragon of virtue if they only laughed on the sidelines rather than making things worse.

Mattea had lost her territory and suffered a great blow to her power. Given her status and reputation, her sudden downfall would only arouse her former allies and subordinates. If she attracted too much attention on the way, she would never make it to the Lost Paradise, not even after a hundred years.

That was her destination. Having lost her territory, she planned to seek support from her master, the Lord of Lust. After restoring her energy, she would leave and continue to be an undercover agent. Also, she had to report to Lust about Envy and Wayne.

Envy had sworn that he would convene a council meeting before his departure, but Mattea didn’t believe him. She knew that the demon lord would keep secrets, so she had to report to Lust directly about what had happened, or her superior might be misled by false information.

After two days, Mattea had recovered substantially. Not only had she put on clothes, but she was also moving much faster.

Although she still wouldn’t be a match for demons with territories, at least the lesser demons wouldn’t be able to gang up on her and drag her to a dark, damp underground nest for procreation.

She had reached the edge of Hell, and the Lost Paradise was right ahead. The smell of pheromones thickened in the air. A whiff would arouse a reaction.

Overcoming the danger and reaching the entrance to the Lost Paradise safely, Mattea finally allowed herself to relax. She had been fearful and vigilant. When she looked at a patch of grass, she suspected someone was lurking within, and when she saw a tree, she worried that someone was behind it. It was terrible to feel this weak and alone. Thankfully, nothing had gone wrong.

She didn’t know that she wasn’t alone. Wayne had hitchhiked on her and arrived at the Lost Paradise.

1. The original is literally, “Two flowers bloom. Let’s talk about each of them.” It’s an expression from traditional serial novels that began to emerge in the Ming dynasty, meaning this new storyline is happening in parallel to the previous storyline. It’s a transitional expression used from the perspective of the narrator. ☜