Myths Reawakened

Lost Paradise.

It had been a long time since Wayne acquired the Cantos of Pride of the Divine Comedy of the Seven Deadly Sins. As there was no sunrise or moonset in Hell, Wayne could only speculate on the passage of time in the Chosen Land based on his circadian cycles.

It was June tenth, ten days after he entered Hell.

He wondered if Hesione had noticed his disappearance, and if she cared. In Hesione’s mind, the Anointed One was omnipotent and possessed the power of a god after his resurrection. Every move he made, he made to dispense compassion and redemption.

The Anointed One’s disappearance wasn’t a disappearance. It didn’t matter that he had fallen into Hell since he would return to the human world after redeeming his targets.

Wayne couldn’t rely on her anymore. Religion made people foolish. Even Ines, the Goddess of Darkness, would be more dependable. The disciplinary teacher had made a significant investment in him, so She would definitely investigate in person after noticing his disappearance.

After finalizing their partnership, Pride had departed unceremoniously, telling Wayne that he would convene a council meeting of the demon lords soon. Then Wayne just had to do this and that, and Gluttony and Wrath would die for certain. In the meantime, Wayne had to familiarize himself with the power of the Seven Deadly Sins so that he could attack Gluttony and Wrath as Pride’s replica that day.

Pride was too prideful to launch a sneak attack, always going for a frontal assault. His plan to take out Gluttony and Wrath was simple and brutish: start the meeting, start the fight, start the celebration. There were only three steps to complete.

His method was a typical example of how raw power trumped all.

Wayne had no complaints. He patiently waited in the Lost Paradise until the meeting began. He slept—waited seven days in total.

Pride was in no rush to hold the meeting since he had already gained control over Gluttony’s and Wrath’s territories, containing Mechanical Augmentation. His target had always been the Anointed One. Instead of killing, imprisoning, or torturing the Anointed One, he kept Wayne in the Lost Paradise to challenge his weakness.

To Pride, he was the only competent one among the Seven Demon Lords, and Lust was no exception. However, Lust wasn’t completely useless; she was the greatest beauty in Hell.

Putting aside what the brainwashing power of religions would lead one to believe, Lust was not only the greatest beauty in Hell, but also in the human world and Heaven. Her charm was unrivaled. Not even the goddesses, with their Divine Realms, would be more attractive than her.

It had nothing to do with power and everything to do with expertise. The overlord of succubi depended on her charm.

Pride believed that it was only a matter of time for Wayne to become obsessed with Lust’s body, willingly staying in Hell for the pleasure. Even if the plan failed, it wouldn’t be a total failure. Making the Anointed One get up close and personal with succubi in Hell was in itself a success for Hell.

When Pride ran into an angel in the future, especially the Śārim, he would be able to tell them about the scandals. The thought alone was thrilling.

Are you talking about the righteous and wise Anointed One, who shows compassion to all? I know him. I saw him pounding Lust into a table with my own eyes. He’s a demon of lust through and through.

If that’s your Anointed One, you Seven Sacred Virtues can’t be much better, and Heaven must be overflowing with filth.

“Ah—!”

Mattea staggered to the ground, her delicate, weak arms propped on the red carpet. Her cries echoed in the air as her smooth body spasmed. She would like to keep fighting. Her pride refused to accept such a humiliating defeat. However, she wasn’t strong enough, and what was impossible was impossible. Although she tried many times to get back up, she always failed in the end.

Her eyes rolled back into her skull, and she blacked out.

All around her were succubus creampuffs and bodies that had been polished to a shine from all the friction, and those who had put on uniforms had been universally reformed after some tough love. Bat Demon stood tall and proud in the aftermath of the group fight. He received an SSS ranking for his hard work, once again getting a full mark.

An Astral life didn’t know exhaustion or wear and tear, and its endurance was unlimited. Not even the most professional succubi were his match in a real fight.

What about the Lord of Lust? She was under the table, wearing the skin of a blonde, white-eyed woman with angel wings.

Learning that Bat Demon was Wayne, who had claimed Hesione’s purity, Lust swore to corrupt Hesione by corrupting Wayne. Then once she encountered Hesione, she could proudly say, “I’ve grown tired of your man!”

Also, according to market research conducted in the Lost Paradise, the most popular uniform in Hell was the clergywomen's uniform. Almost all demons who patronized the establishment had placed the same order several times. It was love at first sight, and they wanted repeated viewings.

Wayne scanned the useless bodies strewn across the room. With his thoughts, he easily put on black clothes in the style of heavy metal.

“Why hasn’t the meeting started? He’s not messing with me, is he?”

As soon as he took a step forward, a hand reached out from under the table and caught his ankle.

“I’m not done,” Lust said in a trembling voice. “If you want to step out of this room, you’ll be walking over my dead body.”

“As you wish.”

Wayne praised Lust for her fighting spirit. To show his respect, he used his most powerful speed attack, sending numerous tentacles from his feet to suspend Lust in the air. After rounds of straightforward attacks, the tentacles tossed Lust toward a wall like trash. She got stuck like an exhibit.

It was once again proven that, be it magical girls or succubi, no females were a tentacle monster’s match in either one-on-one duels or group fights.

“What’s going on? I’m starting to feel bored. Have I quit sex...?”

Wayne walked out of the room with a frown and breathed in the refreshing air in the garden outside. His head felt much clearer.

The Lord of Lust was the greatest beauty in the world, and her four demigod familiars, Moma, Leone, Michele, and Mattea, each had their own charm. However, Wayne never really felt any joy from their interactions. His soul, especially, grew increasingly listless, like there was no fun in the act.

“The Lost Paradise...”

“It’s the Abyss where happiness and joy are lost, or perhaps the happiness and joy are merely lies we told ourselves. Getting lost in the illusion will doom one to tragedy...”

“Coming to the realization will show one the true meaning of the Lost Paradise. Transcend spiritually to liberate oneself from the constraint of the physical body, freeing one from the compulsion of desires...”

“The Seven Deadly Sins exist for a reason. One extreme loops back to the other extreme. The baptism of sins will lead one to see the truth of goodness...”

“I see. I understand now!”

Wayne nodded to himself. “Post-coital existential crisis is up. I should conserve my strength now that I’m getting illusions.[1]”

Also, he had to commend the Lord of Lust for putting a high-level Astral life like him in such a mood. Her beauty was truly incredible.

He wanted her again!

Wayne shook his head to disperse the image of the female body with perfect proportions. While Lust was wonderful, she was a demon lord with no feelings, and both she and Wayne were acting on carnal desires. Never would either of them fall for the other from prolonged exposure.

The real-life cases of feelings being developed would be the demons protesting outside the demon lord’s palace. So ravaged by the poison of Lust they were, they willingly fell and became mindless slaves to their desires.

Wayne went up to the pool and conjured clear water with his thoughts, slowly submerging himself to wash Bat Demon’s body. The smell was too thick.

After a while, quiet footsteps approached. A fair-skinned woman stepped into the water. Lying at the bottom of the pool, Wayne caught a glimpse of blonde hair and cursed in his head. It hadn’t been that long. Did Lust feel like she could win already?

Splash!

He unfurled his bat wings and emerged from the pool, extending his long, slim arms to pin the alluring body to the poolside. His swinging tentacles were about to teach her a lesson when he realized something was wrong.

The woman had large blonde curls, delicate facial features, and bright eyes, which didn’t belong to the Lord of Lust, but someone Wayne was very familiar with.

Actress, singer, celebrity, and Francan spy... Lily Haworth!

How did you become a succubus? No, how did you end up in Hell?

Wayne looked at his companion from ‘past life’ in shock, his seven eyes widening. To his knowledge, Lily had returned to Franc after leaving Londan, and she should still be in Palis.

She was the original Wayne’s crush rather than Wayne’s, so he saw her as nothing but an acquaintance after their farewell. He never even thought about asking her out for tea when he visited Palis.

They didn’t belong to the same world, so goodbye was goodbye.

He hadn’t expected to meet her in the Lost Paradise, and under such circumstances.

Muffled by the demon’s clawed hand, Lily looked at the randomly swinging tentacles in terror. She knew Bat Demon. He was Master Lust’s mortal enemy. In private, Moma and the other demigod succubi called him the bane of their existence.

Lily had never battled Bat Demon before. With her pathetic skills, she would fall immediately with a yelp, not even able to accumulate any experience. She would just be surrendering herself.

Lust saw her as an important vessel and had been training her systematically, awakening her bloodline and exposing her to magic. Now, she was already a powerful... Silver-ranked mage.

Lust could create an army of Silver-ranked succubi with a simple wave. They were so weak that they only deserved to serve customers on the fringe of the Lost Paradise. Lily received special treatment and avoided the fate of having her talent wasted by forceful enhancements because Lust valued her. Lust planned to make Lily her right-hand woman.

Wayne narrowed his eyes and confirmed that Lily had become a succubus. Thinking of his current relationship with Lust, he decided to pretend he didn’t know her.

Lust’s soft, seductive appearance was only skin deep, and underneath that skin was a cold-blooded great demon lord. If she learned that Lily knew Wayne, she would get ideas no matter what the nature of their relationship was.

Wayne might be fine, but not Lily.

“What a pretty little succubus. You have a good body. Tell me your name. I do not bed succubi who have not made a name for themselves.” Wayne casually tossed Lily to the lawn. She tumbled and picked up her white dress along the way, putting it on. Panicked, she looked around for a way out.

Lust had said that Bat Demon was so strong that he would become a family heirloom in the Lost Paradise. The octopus would last them a long time as an instrument to test a succubus’s strength and skills.

Lily was so low level that she would not survive the demon with what little tricks she had learned at the Francan intelligence agency. She needed to farm a little longer and level up before she would even be qualified to take on Bat Demon.

Actually, her level was so low that she couldn’t even farm properly at the moment. Lust wouldn’t send her to the field for practical experience until she reached Gold. In other words, Lily had effectively encountered the final boss before she even finished the tutorial.

[Panik.jpg]

“Speak!” Wayne waved his tentacles threateningly. “I asked for your name!”

Lily’s expression crumbled. She hurriedly told him her true name in Hell, which she had gained after becoming a succubus. “Li-Lilith.”

“???”

Lily... and now Lilith? Nothing wrong with that, but it makes me wonder.

Adam’s first wife, a vampire, and the demoness of lust... The name carried such weight that not everyone could take it, especially when humans filled the expanse of the Chosen Land. Wayne couldn’t help but imagine the world meeting its destruction before rebirth.

Then, there would be no messy assortment of faiths, but only Heaven and Hell. God said, “Let there be light,” and created the world in seven days.

What an absurd theory!

1. In Mandarin, the post-coital refractory period is known as 贤者时间, literally ‘sage’s time’. That is the term used here. ☜