Myths Reawakened

“The Abyss used to be an independent world that is dark, wild, and chaotic...”

Hesione explained to Wayne the situation in the Abyss. She believed that the Anointed One was omniscient, and the question was only a test to her—or perhaps a hint.

Heaven paid little attention to the Abyss and looked down on the ones who had been defeated by Hell. Perhaps their pride had led to wrong strategies, which resulted in great losses.

“When Father was still around, Hell was no match for Heaven. However, Father didn’t make a move. Instead, He told all angels that the Seven Deadly Sins represented all negatives in the world and could not simply be judged as evil. Only the positive Seven Sacred Virtues can truly defeat the Seven Deadly Sins and judge their wickedness.”

“Hell didn’t dare invade Heaven, so the demons looked to other options, such as the human world and the Abyss...”

The Divine Realms weren’t the only worlds in the Astral Plane. There were other strange worlds. Most of them were related to the ancient gods, such as the Vassal Realm, as well as other relatively stable worlds that had formed through evolution.

The Abyss was one such world.

The original inhabitants of the Abyss were more powerful than average and were generally good at fighting, with many strong individuals. They followed their own code of conduct. Facing Hell’s invasion, the Abyss furiously resisted... then met a collective doom amid the Seven Demon Lords’ cheers and laughter.

We can’t deal with Heaven, but we can deal with you!

After conquering the Abyss, the Seven Demon Lords divided the Abyss into seven parts, and each claimed one as their colony. They corrupted the original inhabitants of the Abyss and turned them into hellish beings.

By eradicating the original inhabitants and corrupting their souls, Hell turned the Abyss into part of itself.

With the Heavenly Father’s departure, the Seven Demon Lords saw a chance. They had been unable to defeat Heaven because there was no demon god in Hell, but now, Heaven didn’t have its god, either, and Hell had grown stronger. Hell’s odds were good.

They’d win!

The Lord of Pride led a charge with all the other Seven Demon Lords, commanding their armies. Together, they charged into Heaven...

TL;DR. In the end, Hell’s invasion became a defensive battle where the demon lords’ armies were driven to the Abyss as Heaven applied a seal on Hell. Ever since then, Hell had been stirring up trouble that never amounted to much, and the demons had spent all their time fighting a door.

“Heaven secured a landslide victory. Without the Seven Deadly Sins acting as a foil, the concepts of the Seven Sacred Virtues grew ever less defined. Mikhael is a prime example. He’s slowly become an embodiment of Pride.” Hesione sighed. “The war in Heaven decided everything. Looking back, it seems like an ironic story of a dragonslayer living long enough to see themselves become the evil dragon.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. No dragonslayers are stronger than evil dragons, and only another evil dragon can defeat an evil dragon. Heaven isn’t a dragonslayer, but an evil dragon to begin with.”

Noticing Hesione’s depressed mood, Wayne offered words of reassurance, “Also, while Mikhael may be a prime example, you’re catching up to him quickly. If the Lord of Lust grows complacent, she might have to ask you for lessons in the future.”

(눈_눈)

The Anointed One was excellent in every way, but he did have a penchant for psychological warfare. He couldn’t be blamed, though, as a serious illness required a potent medicine. The Anointed One was trying to help her.

When Hesione didn’t argue, Wayne lamented how dull she had become. He preferred the defiant Śār who always looked at him with disgust.

“According to you, the Abyss is only successful in being unsuccessful as the defeated, and while they have their own Laws, there has never been a strong individual who could rival the Seven Deadly Sins?”

“Yes,” Hesione said. “In terms of evolution, the framework in the Abyss is rudimentary. It’s a path that could only lead to failure, so it’s only natural that the Abyss would end up being divided between its conquerors.”

Wayne nodded. There were aspects of evolution that relied on chance, and aspects of evolution that were predestined. The Abyss had failed to stand out among the different paths and ended up becoming an extra in the background. Failures like that were commonplace.

What matters is that we’ve participated in evolution, the defeated Abyss might say. Though we haven’t reached the peak, we’ve made the ecosystem more varied.

“Still, this is a nice sword...”

Wayne needed a weapon, and the sword of the Abyss had a nice design.

It was perfect for someone who pursued dramatic flair.

***

The next day, Wayne returned to the Papal State with Sukra in tow. As soon as he stepped through the palace gate, he ran into Reza, who happened to be passing by.

“Śār Hesione, thank you for coming,” Reza said. “How did you sleep last night?”

In another context, the line would go, “Boss, are you satisfied with the two girls last night?” This context, however, was even more scandalous since Reza was the Pontiff, and Wayne was a Śār.

“Just call me Wayne. Don’t draw attention. I don’t want too many people to know.” Wayne spoke like he didn’t care for fame. “The two clergywomen are quite nice. They are my type and, while they look good with their clothes on, they look even better without their clothes. I was so focused on looking at them that I forgot to do anything.”

Reza paused. That sounded like the Śār wasn’t someone who couldn’t keep his pants on, and not only had he held onto his purity, he was even trying to protect the clergywomen’s purity by warning Reza against leveraging their faith.

That couldn’t be. The investigation report suggested otherwise!

Reza couldn’t figure Wayne out. For now, he decided to see the angel’s reaction as a superior’s trick to manipulate his subordinate. Reza would observe for a little longer.

“Have you made the arrangements I asked you to make?”

“Mr. Wayne, as per your order, the news has been released...” Reza explained the plan he had spent the whole night formulating, knocking his own chest and promising that the flawless plan would certainly make the Church of Death step into the trap.

If it didn’t succeed, Reza would locate the headquarters of the Church of Death with the Church of Heavenly Father’s power. Wayne would be notified at once.

“I trust you with this. The Pontiff of Death is nothing compared to you, yet he calls himself a pontiff like you? He’s dead.

Wayne never doubted Reza’s competence. The old boy was certainly the most cunning of all the church leaders. While the other popes were still catering to the needs of their gods, Pontiff Reza was already using the angels to make the Papal State greater. Moreover, he had done so well in the balancing act that the angels couldn’t do anything but watch him earn his entrance to Heaven.

Of course, Reza couldn’t take all the credit since he had followed the experience accumulated by the previous pontiffs. Reza was merely the one who had combined all their lessons, and he luckily welcomed the descent of the strongest batch of reincarnated angels.

Four Virtues had descended. Something like that had never happened and would never happen again.

“It’s your turn. Go back to class and get on the podium that’s set up for you. Spread the doctrines of Death!” Wayne patted Sukra on the back, urging her to hurry.

Sukra sighed, dragging her feet to work. The way she wobbled made it seem like she had had a busy night.

Reza came to a realization. The investigation report was accurate. Hesione had become distinctively human after his reincarnation, and the two clergywomen had only skipped the baptism of Holy Light because Hesione was too preoccupied with the Holy Maiden of Death.

“Mr. Wayne, she’s still a Holy Maiden. Is this really alright?”

“I know you misunderstood something, but I still have to say that it wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, the Goddess of Death would have to thank me!”

...The goddess would have to thank you for sleeping with Her vessel in the human world... Is there really a goddess like that?

***

Five days flew by. Though Wayne said that he would go on a long trip, he had been spending the nights in Londan, bed-surfing every day and maintaining his work-life balance.

Sukra was dazed after five days of work. Having gotten used to melding with a couch, she was suddenly reliving her bad old days and couldn’t believe how she had endured it. Working was difficult. It was more comfortable to be a capitalist’s kept pet.

Pontiff Reza passed by the palace every day. He saw Sukra walk with an increasingly unsteady gait while the clergywomen remained pure. He didn’t understand Wayne’s true feelings.

Was he pure? But he started every day refreshed after a thrilling night. Was he impure? But the two clergywomen remained pure to this day.

Still, Reza could tell from Wayne’s attitude that he approved of the clergywomen’s devotion to their faith. Even if he didn’t lay a hand on them now, he would sooner or later.

***

May twenty-ninth, afternoon.

Sounds of hurried steps filled the grove. Sukra was on a run, panting. Her white robe was stained with blood. It seemed that her injury was quite serious.

Over the past few days, the Holy Maiden of Death had been preaching in the Papal State for some mysterious reasons, even going so far as to injure a few legendary mages of the Order of Holy Light.

Enraged, Pontiff Reza ordered his people to... wait and see. Death wasn’t foolish. The church’s sudden move had to be driven by ulterior motives. While keeping a close eye on Sukra, he released the information and finally made contact with the leadership of the Church of Death.

The envoy of the Pontiff of Death arrived in the Papal State. Pontiff Reza immediately summoned them that night, demanding to know what the Church of Death was planning.

The envoy hurriedly explained that Holy Maiden Sukra had betrayed them years ago and was thus stripped of her title. She wasn’t even a helper at the church, so whatever she did had nothing to do with the church.

Reza didn’t believe the envoy. Stripping the Holy Maiden of her title? The Pontiff of Death didn’t have the right. Even the Church of Nature only replaced its Holy Maiden after twenty years. Unless a grave crime had been committed, no one could oust a Holy Maiden.

Moreover, if Sukra had been relieved of her duties years ago, why hadn’t the Church of Heavenly Father heard about it? Why did the Church of Death only say something now?

The envoy couldn’t explain everything. He could only offer benefits to placate the Papal State—it was a big offering!

Reza’s expression brightened somewhat, but not by much. After discussing with the envoy, they settled on a plan to drive Sukra out of the Papal State and let the Church of Death deal with her outside the border.

Reza didn’t ask for much. He only demanded that the Church of Death kill Sukra right before him to prove that the Holy Maiden’s preaching was a personal action that had nothing to do with the Church of Death.

Killing the Holy Maiden would be a serious sin in every church. Reza had made only one demand, but it was an unreasonable demand.

The envoy hesitated and didn’t immediately say yes. After departing and then returning, though, he relayed the Pontiff of Death’s order and decided the time and location of Sukra’s death. The Pontiff of Death would apologize to Reza personally after dealing with the traitor.

That was what led to the current event.

Sukra was chased out of the Papal State by the Order of Holy Light, with many pursuers at her tail, ranging from angels to legendary mages. The Pontiff’s vehicle was even following at a distance.

The one possible escape route was blocked by the Church of Death’s powerful troops, as well as Pontiff Kenneth and High Prophet Duin. They planned to erase Sukra and eliminate the threat.

The Church of Death reserved no force.

For one, they were wary of Sukra. The slacker had been an expert in guerrilla tactics before she started slacking off. For another, they had to keep their guard up against the Church of Heavenly Father and make sure they didn’t fall short. If nothing went wrong, Sukra would meet a certain death.

Boom!!

A wall of white bones rose tall, with skeletal thorns shooting out of the ground and cutting off all possible escape routes for Sukra. On top of the ten-meter wall emerged a few grey-robed figures. The leading man and woman were the Pontiff and the High Prophet.

Pontiff Kenneth appeared as a middle-aged man with sculpted features and a quiet authority. High Prophet Duin, on the other hand, looked incredibly young, with silverish grey hair running down her shoulders. Her right eye was covered by an eyepatch with a drawn skeletal dragon claw. Her stunning figure and appearance, with light purple lipstick highlighting her lips, were no less charismatic than Sukra's.

All the other church members were legendary mages. The Church of Death no longer had Oracle High Reverends after the revolution. Learning from the Church of Heavenly Father, the church had cardinals instead.