Myths Reawakened

The newcomer was a stunning beauty with fair skin and red hair, her graceful curves covered by a black robe. She was Anastasia, Holy Maiden of Darkness and Wayne’s white moonlight.

Or, more precisely, she was Anastasia in appearance. Wearing the skin was Ines, the Goddess of Darkness.

The goddess had come to Hell to rescue Wayne.

His prediction was exactly right. Śār Hesione was so lost in her fantasy of the Anointed One’s omnipotence that she believed the Anointed One would be able to get out of Hell if he had managed to enter Hell. It would be wiser to put his hope in Ines rather than Hesione.

That wasn’t the point now, though. Wayne had suffered so much in Hell, first getting humiliated repeatedly by the demonesses in the Lost Paradise before being subject to coercion from Pride, the number one villain of Hell. Last but not least, Wrath and Gluttony had fought him to the death.

Life in Hell was difficult!

Feeling increasingly frustrated, he buried his face in his sanctuary, wanting nothing more than to dwell in the serene comfort for a lifetime. Nuzzling it, kneading it, and then nuzzling it. The vast darkness was all-encompassing. In this materialistic Hell infested by demons, his white moonlight alone could warm him up.

She smelled so good!

Inhale—

Air rushed into his lungs.

“I’m talking to you. Stop sucking!” Ines stared at the pervert resting his head on her chest, disgruntled. She pushed him aside... then pushed him once more... Finally, one last time.

“Are you done?” Ines scoffed. Enough was enough. Wayne must know that she wasn’t Anastasia. The Holy Maiden would do whatever he wanted, but not her.

“One last time...”

Suckle.

Wayne took a deep breath and lingered for another moment before reluctantly pulling away from the warm sanctuary. He looked up and saw Anastasia’s face, pursing his lips. She looked incredible, so much so that all of Hell paled in comparison.

Gulp!

After being apart from her for half a month, his white moonlight seemed even more stunning.

Objectively speaking, the Lord of Lust was more beautiful and charismatic than Anastasia, but Wayne had no feelings for the former, and he was looking at Anastasia through moonlight-tinted glass. Lust couldn’t compare at all.

“Put your sacrilegious gaze away,” Ines said coldly. “I’m not your Ana.”

“I’m not looking at you.”

“Should I go then?”

“Why not? I’m not asking you to stay for dinner.”

“...”

“Why are you still here?”

***

Later, on a sunny beach.

Under a parasol, Ines lay on a beach lounger with a pair of oversized glasses. The combination of red lips, red hair, and a tall, well-proportioned body clad in a black swimsuit made for a flawless beauty. She picked up the glass of iced orange juice from a small round table and parted her lips to take the straw in. Then...

She looked at Wayne in exasperation.

“What are you doing?”

“Putting sunscreen on Ana.” Wayne carried an assortment of skin products to the lounger, huffing. “Ana was born in the Rus Federation, growing up under the torment of cutting coldness. Her skin cannot take the blazing sunlight. You may not care, but I do.”

“Have you forgotten that she’s a legendary mage who’s been corrupted into an Astral life by you, so her skin doesn’t fear the most scorching of sunlight?”

“Nonsense. How could you, the Goddess of Darkness, know the Holy Maiden of Darkness better than I do?”

Wayne scoffed. Twisting the bottle of sunscreen open, he rubbed his hands together and applied the slightly cool lotion all over Anastasia’s long legs—he was using his own body at this moment.

Bat Demon smelled like the sea after being submerged in the succubi for so long. Wayne found the body too filthy for his white moonlight, so he had taken it off and tossed it aside.

Without Wayne piloting the body, Bat Demon’s intelligence saw a sharp drop. With a scoop in one hand and a barrel in his other hand, Bat Demon was building sand castles on the side.

The idiot—no, the two idiots!

In the distance, Lilith was writing furiously in the office building. She had been ordered to write a hundred thousand words in three days. She had to push herself to complete her superior’s mission.

She didn’t see Ines, nor did she see Wayne’s true form. In the City of Decadence, the Third Abyss, she could only see what Wayne wanted her to see.

In her eyes, the parasol and lounger didn’t exist. Her master, Bat Demon, was simulating his evil invasion plan for the other great demon lords’ territories on the sandy beach. It was very typical for a demon in Hell.

Meanwhile, Wayne had finished putting the sunscreen on Anastasia’s limbs and abdomen and was now flanking the highland. Rather than waiting for his opponent to surrender, he launched a forceful offense.

Slap!

Ines slapped away the ‘armies’ flanking Her with a derisive look on Her face, warning Wayne not to push his luck.

“Fine. Flip over.”

She didn’t say no this time. Pulling Her long red hair up, She turned around and lay on the lounger.

Untying the black strings, Wayne started applying sunscreen on Her back with both hands, his fingertips mapping the gentle curves. The solemn expression on his face made it seem as if he were maintaining a piece of art.

Ines tilted Her head to the side and closed Her eyes, letting out a lazy hum.

“You’re quite skillful, as professional as I expected.”

“I’m good, ain’t I?” Wayne said proudly. “I’ve been practicing my craft for a long time with other people.”

“That isn’t a compliment...” Ines was speechless. After enjoying his service with Her eyes closed for some time, She sensed the hands on Her back getting naughty, but a warning huff was Her only response.

This was nothing. She had offered Wayne many benefits so far. The furthest She had gone was pinning him to the wall of a confessional booth while wearing Her true face.

The internal examination last time didn’t count since it was an accident rather than something She initiated. She had actually taken some time to recover from the experience.

She had obviously pieced Her composure back together since then. Although She had lost Her seductive attitude, at least She wasn’t aggrieved and vexed now. She felt like She had recovered enough to treat Wayne normally.

She was rather speechless, though. She didn’t understand what could have happened since that day for Wayne to become a great demon lord in Hell.

Aren’t you the Anointed One? Then be a good Anointed One. What the Hell is with you becoming a great demon lord?

Even if Wayne wasn’t the Anointed One, he had always charged at the very forefront whenever a demon descended to the human world, creating a laughingstock out of many demons. He had antagonized several demon lords in Hell—and their grudges couldn’t be resolved without one party dying.

Ines was thoroughly confused, but She didn’t ask. She knew Wayne would start boasting on his own.

It hadn’t been long since Wayne came to Hell, no longer than half a month. Ines hadn’t known where he was until Solsknar tipped Her off.

He said that Wayne, the Darkness Knight and a subordinate god candidate, had been cheating on Darkness with Death, even making eyes at Heaven. The man was dishonest and two-faced. Under his skin, he was all rebellious bones.

Solsknar hadn’t provided the news immediately, but instead kept it under wraps for quite a while for his own selfish reasons. Through the Listener, he later informed Ines.

Ines panicked immediately, worried that Wayne would meet his demise in Hell, leaving Her investment wasted. She had descended through Anastasia and entered the ruins of the Life Alliance, tracking the clues to Hell and finally the Third Abyss.

When She reached the entrance to the Third Abyss, Her heart sank. This was the Lord of Wrath’s territory. Wayne had most likely...

Then She saw Bat Demon!

The shape was different, but the presence was the same. Ines watched speechlessly as Bat Demon fell into Her bosom.

Ines wasn’t going to talk when Wayne didn’t. Every conversation between them unfolded like a negotiation. One side was cunning and shrewd, while the other side was tricky and deceitful. They would never get to business without a few rounds of mutual testing and playing dumb.

This time was no exception!

Some time later, Wayne had rubbed sunscreen on parts that should and shouldn’t have sunscreen on. After 0.25 seconds, he slid his hand further down with his head resting on Ines’s back. “My dear goddess, what are you doing in the middle of nowhere in Hell rather than enjoying your time in your Divine Realm?”

“I’m here to take you away.”

“Are you sure?!” Wayne widened his eyes in disapproval. “Take a look. I’m now a second in command in Hell. I’ve almost become the boss as a spy. Yet you want me to leave?”

Madam I, we Seven Deadly Sins are a legitimate business!

Ines couldn’t argue. Indeed, She felt out of place here. She seemed to have come at the wrong time. If She had visited Hell a few days later, perhaps Wayne would’ve become the great demon god of Hell.

She had come to Wayne’s rescue partly because She wanted to secure her investment, and partly because She wanted to make him owe her one by offering a helping hand when he was in trouble.

She had expected him to be running away from the Seven Demon Lords after antagonizing all of them, and She thought his wanted notices would be all over Hell. With nowhere to go and nowhere to return to, he, at rock bottom, would be in dire need of help.

That was when Ines would come in and offer to take him out of Hell as his savior. No matter what payment She requested, he would say yes. Then, despite the detour She had taken, wouldn’t She secure her third subordinate god?

Reality was far from ideal, though. Wayne was doing well in Hell. He had become a great demon lord and one of the Seven Deadly Sins, with his own territories. He was at his peak and didn’t need Her rescue. In fact, he might not even want to leave.

Ines sighed. She had thought that the reincarnated angels had misjudged, and that they had mistaken Wayne for the Anointed One. Now, though, She believed they were right. Given how Wayne had managed to build such a successful career in Hell, She would be the first to disagree if someone said he wasn’t the Anointed One.

Her plan to recruit a perfect subordinate god was falling further apart. It left a bitter taste in Her mouth. While She might be able to forcefully take Wayne to Her Divine Realm under the guise of bringing him back to the human world, molding Heaven’s Anointed One into Her subordinate god, She wasn’t sure She could tame Wayne. If She failed, not only would Her investment go down the drain, but She would also create an enemy with terrifying talent for Herself.

The plan to make Wayne Her pet wouldn’t work. She had to aim for the second-best outcome: making him Her ally by investing more.

Considering Wayne’s terrible personality, he might turn his once ally into his pet after he gained enough raw power, which was why Ines had been rejecting the plan.

If She treated him as an ally, She would suffer great losses once he rose to power; if She didn’t form an alliance with him, She would only lose more once he became stronger. It was damn if She did and damn if She didn’t.

At some point, the two had begun kissing. Looking at the beautiful face with bashful blush and closed eyes, Wayne unconsciously murmured his white moonlight’s name.

“Ana...”

Bam!

A white line streaked across the golden beach and fell into the ocean, stirring up swathes of waves for a thousand meters before sinking.

Ines pulled Her leg back, cursing under Her breath. She tied Her black swimsuit up as She stood and said with a nonchalant look on Her face, “Your Ana isn’t here. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Wayne teleported back with his white shirt and colorful printed shorts sticking to his body. He slicked his black hair back without a word, politely letting the topic drop.

Ines sat back down on the lounger with a glass of juice, taking the straw into Her mouth. “Tell me, what happened in Hell? Who’s the seven-eyed demon digging holes into sand over there?”

Wayne leaned in shamelessly and tried to put his arm around Ines’s shoulder. After getting pushed away twice, he finally succeeded in pulling Her into his arms.

Smack!

“You’re stunning, Ines!” Wayne said lovingly.

Ines rolled Her eyes. She might buy it if he hadn’t called Her ‘Ana’, but now, She could still taste his earlier lie, the bastard.

Anastasia was a mature woman. If she hadn’t been corrupted by chance and then experienced a series of happenstance, Wayne would’ve never gotten to take his white moonlight’s hands. They would at most be friends who chatted over afternoon tea every three to five years.

Ines, as Anastasia’s former superior, would only be more unattainable.

She had been through the War of Faiths and survived all the bloodshed and deaths as a powerful being. From serving another as the Plague of Stars to ruling over a Divine Realm as the Goddess of Darkness, She had encountered more deception and gaslighting trickery than the number of women Wayne had met. It would be a fool’s errand to try to lower Her intelligence with romance.

Forgive Her bluntness. Wayne simply wanted Her in the physical sense—and it was only because She was the Goddess of Darkness.

Aren’t you getting in over your head? Or do you take me as a pushover?

Thinking back to the pretty boy who had given Her a wide berth not long ago, Ines concluded that Wayne had indeed gotten arrogant. His incredible talent and unusual growth rate deprived him of respect and fear for the gods. That was why he wanted to make Her his benefactor with his longcoming.