Myths Reawakened

Clank!

The black chains tightened around the four angels, dangling them in the air. Since they were all males, the binding had been done properly, without emphasizing the torsos or the other curves of the body.

Behind Wayne’s chair, Hestia and Olga held a secret conversation through telepathy.

“Frey, they’re both Śārim. Why is your Śār so much stronger than Śār Auriel?”

“Śār went on a study trip in Hell and slew Gluttony and Wrath, two of the Seven Deadly Sins. In the process, his purity advanced further. Of course he would beat Śār Auriel.”

“Are you serious? But he’s using the power of the Seven Deadly Sins,” Olga said carefully. “Is there a possibility—and I do mean a possibility—that Śār Hesione has become stronger after falling?”

“Shut up!” Hestia glared at Olga, then looked at the figure sitting on the bench. She said through clenched teeth, “Śār has not fallen. Even if he has, I’ll follow in his footsteps.”

“That’s blind faith. It’s wrong.”

“Ha, how about you?” Hestia scoffed. “What would you do if the Śār fell?”

Olga glanced at the four angels suspended in the sky and then at her pristine white robe. She straightened her back proudly behind Wayne.

Even a fool would know which to choose between standing free and getting bound.

“Hmph, at least you know what’s good for you!”

“Anointed One, what do you plan to do with those four?”

Hesione looked ahead coldly. Auriel and his band of rebels had attacked the Anointed One and been captured for their treachery. They’d brought this on themselves.

Religion did not operate on logic.

It had never occurred to Hesione that, given the Anointed One’s understated sense of justice and the situation facing Auriel, Auriel had actually behaved like a proper Śār from start to finish.

“Let them go. What else? Do you expect me to kill them?”

Wayne shrugged. That was the downside of being a hero. He was always forced to do what he didn’t want to do, this situation being a prime example. Auriel had declared his intention to kill Wayne, swinging his sacred spear with ferocious force, yet Wayne couldn’t do anything about it.

It was frustrating.

“Anointed One, are you sure that’s wise?” Hesione asked hesitantly.

“Good point. If I let them go, they’ll keep harassing me...”

Wayne pondered with a frown. Then he released Gerar, Vilkul, and Fred with a wave, leaving Auriel hanging in the air alone.

Amid the scraping noises of chains, Gerar was the first to regain his freedom. He said darkly, “Deceit, what’s the meaning of this?”

“First of all, while I am deceitful, I’m not a demon. I... Never mind. You wouldn’t listen anyway, so I won’t bother defending myself.”

Wayne clenched his fists and cleared his throat, letting out a huff. “I have Auriel. The three of you must do everything in your power to find the Anointed One. They are key to the safety of both the mortal realm and Heaven. If you don’t find the Anointed One, I’ll castrate Auriel personally!”

According to what Ines had said about the prophecy, Judgment Day would arrive at any time. The clock was ticking.

The Anointed One was Heavenly Father’s successor, destined to become a god upon entering Heaven. They would make an indispensable ally. It was imperative to find them—fast.

“Gerar, Vilkul, ignore the demon. He wants to get his hands on the Anointed One through us. Even if I die, the Anointed One must not be put in danger!”

Auriel declared in a hardened tone, ready to die rather than yield to the demon. If Wayne wanted to kill him, he should hurry up and do it. Auriel wouldn’t so much as flinch.

By this point, he had given up on his unrealistic imagination of them being nemeses. He didn’t stand a chance against Deceit. Deceit wasn’t his nemesis, and Mikhael alone could defeat him. Therefore...

Mikhael had two arch enemies: Deceit and Pride.

Auriel was filled with concern. While Mikhael was a two-faced bastard with no loyalty, he was Heaven’s finest. If he couldn’t defeat Pride and Deceit, Heaven would be doomed.

Auriel turned to Hesione, who hung on Deceit’s every word. His face darkened. He couldn’t even bear to look at her.

Mikhael was a treacherous schemer, Hesione had willingly fallen, and Lahr had conspired with Hell to alter the prophecy regarding the Anointed One. Among all the Śārim, he alone had any decency.

However, he was now trapped and deprived of the ability to lend Heaven a hand. He could not guide the Anointed One’s descent.

Heaven faced crises internally and externally. How was he, Auriel, going to lead the legions of angels to victory against such powerful enemies?

The golden light in Auriel’s eyes dimmed. His gaze turned hazy. He saw no hope.

Gerar and Vilkul were torn. They discussed their next move telepathically.

Deceit had gained control over Hesione, Frey, and Olga, and he had captured Auriel. There was no fighting him. They had tried twice and concluded that they stood no chance. Abandoning Auriel was out of the question. They had to save him somehow.

But obeying Deceit and finding the Anointed One would only put Heaven in greater crisis...

The two Sacred Virtues exchanged a glance, coming to a silent agreement. They would swallow their pride and play along for now to placate Deceit and keep Auriel alive. The moment they found the Anointed One, they would whisk them to the Papal State. Only by sending the Anointed One to Heaven could the situation be turned around.

As for Auriel, now a captive...

Once the Anointed One entered Heaven, perhaps they could free Auriel.

“Gerar, Vilkul! What are you doing?!” Auriel seemed to sense what they were planning. He thrashed wildly, rattling the chains binding him. “You’re no match for Deceit! Once you find the Anointed One, he’ll snatch them away and drag them to Hell. Then we’ll all become sinners in Heaven!”

Gerar’s face darkened, while Vilkul smiled bitterly. They knew, but what else could they do? They would just have to play it by ear.

Hesione saw her three colleagues’ faces and felt a pang of sympathy. She leaned down and murmured, “Anointed One, while this is meant for their redemption, their loyalty to Heaven is undeniable. With my limited wisdom, I cannot figure out the meaning of this trial.”

“And I can’t figure out what’s going on in your clever little head,” Wayne grumbled. “Me being the Anointed One is nothing but your wishful thinking. Stop daydreaming. Your purity has been desecrated by a human, and that human isn’t the Anointed One. There’s no way to whitewash it.”

Hesione felt the world spin around her. She murmured, “I see. It’s because you’re the Anointed One that I excuse my own behavior. That’s why I’ve been stuck in my pursuit of redemption.”

╮(・ɜ・)╭

What am I supposed to do? Wayne sighed. This is troublesome!

“Now I understand that I’ll never find the real Anointed One if I count on you useless idiots.” He cursed under his breath. “If I weren’t worried about the demons getting clues, I would have put an ad in the newspaper to find the Anointed One ages ago. How is Heaven supposed to prosper with you vermin leading the way?”

“How wonderful that I’m not the Anointed One, or I’d sooner or later be driven to an early grave!”

Wayne pointed at the three Sacred Virtues and lay into them in turn, skipping Hesione. At the end of the day, she was a major sex-payer. Since she mistook him for the Anointed One, she had begun to pay excess voluntarily, showing more diligence than before.

“You’re right,” Hesione said dejectedly. “Our incompetence caused you trouble.”

“Shut up, you smart ass!” Wayne lowered Auriel and said irritably, “Whether you believe me or not, I’m not a demon. Look up my track record, and you’ll see that I’m an undercover agent. I’m one of the good guys.”

“An undercover agent who became one of the Seven Deadly Sins?” Auriel sneered.

Bam!

Wayne punched him, sending him flying. “You should be glad that I’m not the Anointed One. Otherwise, the first thing I do once I reach Heaven would be to rip off your wings and cast you to Hell for all eternity.”

“Of course, since you’re not the Anointed One!” Auriel staggered back while flapping his wings, glaring at Wayne with full defiance. “I, Auriel, swear to Father that if you are the Anointed One, I’ll march into Hell and join the Seven Deadly Sins, serving Hell for the rest of my life without complaint.”

Wayne’s eyes twitched. If the Anointed One wasn’t tied to the safety of both the mortal realm and Heaven, if he could afford to be reckless, he would’ve impersonated the Anointed One and taken the bet.

“Hahaha, you’ve got nothing to say—”

Bam!

Wayne pulled his fist back and glanced at Gerar and Vilkul. “Londan is my territory. I’ve been here longer than all of you. I don’t care if you keep mistaking me for a demon. Just don’t bother me.”

“What will you do once we find the Anointed One?” Gerar demanded.

“I’m a demon, so I’ll send the Anointed One to Hell, of course!” Playing along with Gerar’s expectations, Wayne put on a convincing act as a great demon lord. “You’d better get the Anointed One out of Londan when you find them, or once they end up in a demon’s hands, every single one of you will be a sinner in Heaven. You, Auriel, will be the biggest sinner of them all!”

With that, he faded out of existence.

“Auriel, you’ve been too disrespectful to the Anointed One!” Hesione said.

“Shut up,” Auriel snarled, on the verge of losing it. “I’ll say it again. He’s a demon, a demon. And he’s a top demon at the level of the Seven Deadly Sins!”

“How foolish...” Hesione shook her head coldly. Having grown used to the Anointed One’s divine presence, she saw Auriel’s blind ignorance and felt their difference keenly. Without the Anointed One, Heaven would be doomed.

“You, a fool blinded by Deceit, are calling me a fool?” Auriel pointed his sword at her, laughing in fury. “Fine, fine. I’m drawing a line between us today. You’ll follow your demon, and I’ll look for the Anointed One. Don’t ever contact me again.”

“I’ve already found the Anointed One!”

“Damn it, I challenge you to a duel!”

Soon, Auriel was buried head down in the ground. His legs swayed in the wind, symbolizing freedom and authenticity.

It was just like Envy slamming the table and demanding a duel with Pride. The outcome of the fight had been decided before it even started.

The difference was that Envy genuinely couldn’t defeat Pride, whereas Auriel had simply made a stupid mistake because of his rage. He had forgotten how injured he was and handed an easy victory to Hesione.

“Auriel, I see the Seven Deadly Sins in you,” Hesione said, standing beside the upside-down angel. “You refuse to see the truth and deny the Anointed One, poisoned by Pride, Envy, and Wrath. You’re also deceitful.”

“Shut up. I don’t need you to lecture me. An angel eating out of a demon’s palm has no right to talk down to me.” Auriel’s voice came muffled from underground. “Just wait. I’ll reclaim my full power and challenge Deceit once more. I will never submit...”

“Wonderful, Auriel! Once you reclaim all your power, you’ll be able to open the Gate of Heaven in the Papal State and bring the Anointed One back to Heaven,” Hesione said brightly. With her human self intact, it was too difficult for her to regain her power. Auriel, on the other hand, didn’t have the same problem. It made sense that he would be ahead of her.

“Auriel, if you make up for your mistakes that way, I’ll put in a good word for you with the Anointed One,” Hesione said with renewed spirit. “Given his magnanimous nature, I’m sure he won’t hold that against you.”

“Ha, are you putting in a good word with your body? How very kind of you, you filthy Purity. I, Śār Auriel, want nothing to do with your filthy—”

Bam!

The planted angel was buried entirely in the ground.

Hesione stormed away, muttering that Auriel didn’t deserve redemption, that the Anointed One was right: he deserved to go to Hell.

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