Myths Reawakened

“Bo—Wayne, what’s your plan for the projection of the Abyss and the two demon lords?” Hestia asked.

“Call me Boss. You’re my secretary now. You need to get in character.” Wayne stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The threat posed by Prussia’s Mechanical Augmentation far surpasses the demon lords. It would bring devastating corruption to both the human world and Heaven. Therefore, we’re in no rush to drive the demon lords away. Just look at how they acted earlier. They crave the Mechanical Augmentation and want to claim the evolution path for themselves.”

“Are you pitting Prussia and the demon lords against each other?”

“That’s the idea. Once I confirm the location of the enemy’s headquarters, I’ll feed the information to the demon lords and let them take the lead.” Wayne’s lips curled up. Evil had to be fought in evil ways. A righteous man like him shouldn’t be putting himself in harm’s way.

A protagonist should be pulling the strings behind the scenes unless absolutely necessary. Let others bleed, and then he would be the last one laughing, picking off the strays and harvesting the gain.

Ring—

The phone on the desk rang. Ottilia, perched on Wayne’s lap, leaned over and picked up the receiver with her tail, holding it to his ear.

“Heil!”

“Understood.”

“I will hold my post and await further orders!”

“No, I have no complaints. The name of our honor is loyalty. That is the creed of every SS member. I’ll keep it to heart, always.”

After hanging up, Wayne clicked his tongue. “That’s easy. There’s another shipment of Philosopher’s Stone fragments coming here for me.”

The caller was Paul, the former director of the orphanage. After Wayne took his place, Paul was promoted and reassigned. He called to notify Wayne that a large batch of stone fragments would soon arrive. The newly appointed director, Wayne, was to receive and sign for the delivery, using every fragment to corrupt the reincarnated angels.

Prussia was too cautious. Though they believed that Mechanical Augmentation could corrupt angels, they weren’t going to leave anything to chance. They increased the dosage.

For the next three days, several crates of Philosopher’s Stone fragments would arrive daily. Wayne was to stay at the orphanage to receive the deliveries and use his downtime to write reports. Once the mission concluded, those who deserved promotions would be promoted, and medals would be awarded. The loyal Major Christian would receive a personal audience with the Führer.

“The timing isn’t right,” Wayne murmured. “By the day the audience happens, Major Christian will have already betrayed his nation...”

The plan kept changing. It seemed that he would have trouble meeting the mustached Führer as Christian.

He could only hope that the demon lords would come through. For the sake of world peace, please let them succeed in assassinating Hidler.

***

April fifteenth.

Five days passed in a blur. Wayne signed for deliveries of Philosopher’s Stone fragments, and the Book of Greed devoured them all with delight.

It was desperate for progress.

The book was insatiable, and Wayne never once stopped it. Only after the book took its share could he get his. Everyone would progress together. It was a good thing!

Today was the critical day for the higher-ups to receive the mechanical angel. Wayne had prepared the mission report, along with ‘Hestia’, a supposed reincarnated angel who had been converted into a devotee of the Mechanical Augmentation.

Dressed in a crisp SS uniform, she stood tall and upright, cutting a striking figure.

It was an impressive disguise. Due to Wayne’s ingrained stereotypical imagination of Prussians, he had put the uniform on her and made Lust incarnate into a dignified, reserved type of character. Of course, it could have something to do with Regina herself. She was Prussian and fit the looks to begin with.

“Boss, the uniform is so tight. My chest feels constricted. I can barely breathe.”

“I’ve been locked up for five days. You promised to buy me new clothes and new skincare products. You have to keep your promise.”

“Say something, Boss!”

Regina kept her poker face while she complained endlessly through her thoughts. The holding cell was far worse than she had imagined, and she felt so wronged that she had to be coaxed into continuing working overtime.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go on a date with you once we’re back in Londan. Happy?”

“Don’t try that with me. You’ll just be going on a date with Ottilia while I watch you two flirt.”

“So? Aren’t you included in that date?”

While they were bickering, Wayne suddenly sensed three gazes from behind him. They seemed to be coming from the projection of the Abyss, where the demon lords were.

Three? Did another demon lord descend?

Before he could investigate, a few black cars pulled up in front of the orphanage.

“Major Christian, you’ve worked hard.” A man with a severe temperament stepped out, his facial features slightly rigid. He extended a hand to Wayne with a measured smile.

“General,” Wayne greeted with devotion. “It’s only part of my duty. For the Führer, I fear no bloodshed or sacrifice. Working overtime is nothing short of a blessing.”

“Well said. It’s the blessing bestowed upon us by the Führer.” The Lieutenant General nodded with satisfaction, shaking Wayne’s hand. He turned to look at the expressionless ‘Hestia’.

“General, this is the target of my mission, a former reincarnated angel. The report is in the briefcase. Please receive it at your convenience.”

“Is her condition stable?”

“Absolutely. She’s even learned to speak fluent Prussian.”

“Excellent. In the coming war, the empire will need her power.”

“General, regarding the war...” Wayne gave him a crisp salute. “Please don’t take this the wrong way. I know that the nation is about to wage war against Franc. I wish not to stay in the rear indefinitely. If possible, I’d like to go to the frontline.”

“Patience. Franc owns the world’s finest army, and their air force is not to be underestimated. Even we can’t be certain that we’ll conquer their land swiftly. Your moment to shine will come.”

The Lieutenant General was pleased by Wayne’s devotion. He clapped him on the shoulder and encouraged, “Beyond that, you won’t need to petition me to go to the front. The Führer will give you a chance to speak for yourself before him.”

Wayne said nothing while his face flushed with overwhelming emotions. It was an award-winning performance.

Regina couldn’t do it. It was already difficult for her, a Prussian local, to play an SS officer. Having to impersonate Hestia on top of that, the role became too difficult for her to play convincingly. To prevent slipups, she accepted Wayne’s advice and settled into the role of a beautiful woman of few words. The less she said, the less that could go wrong.

With their vision shared, Wayne fed Regina the lines, so she only had to deliver them with an icy expression.

He watched Regina climb into one of the cars. As the convoy disappeared into the distance, one of the three gazes vanished.

“They bit the bait so readily,” Wayne murmured. “How long have they been starving? I hadn’t even tossed in additional bait to lure them out of their base...”

He headed to his office. “Regina’s in position. Get ready. It’s time for us to move, too.”

Wayne led his two secretaries down to the bunker. In the last holding cell, he found Derrida, still hung there in the form of a cross-shaped star. He had woken up a few days ago and had been feigning unconsciousness from his injury as per the plan. He was fully recovered now.

That brought Wayne’s party to a satisfying composition of two angels and two succubi. With such a team, they could break into the Chancellery of the New Reich without problem.

“The demons’ side has already sent someone out. Let them feel things out first. We’ll follow when the time is right.”

Wayne closed his eyes to trace Regina, finding the convoy heading toward the outskirts of the city rather than the chancellery. He quietly breathed out a sigh of disappointment.

After today, I’ll have to do things the hard way if I want to get close to the mustached leader.

Hestia’s real name in Heaven was Frey. She was a Throne and reportedly a clerk before joining the legion of angels. She was quite a violent fighter.

As shown by the example of a certain man, an office worker turned fighter always became most formidable in battle[1].

Derrida’s true name in Heaven was Fred, also a Throne. He wasn’t as fierce a fighter but was adept at defense and healing. He was a first-rate support.

His first battle after awakening had ended with a demon lord beating him into shutting himself in, which had been eating at him. He was eager to prove himself in a rematch.

He glanced curiously at Hestia’s succubus form. Though it was only a disguise, it was a bit much, wasn’t it? Wasn’t she taking her nickname as Lust incarnate a little too seriously?

Hestia glared at him, warning him to keep his mouth shut.

Derrida shrugged, speculating that it had something to do with Wayne. The fact that he could make the short-tempered Hestia comply meant that he had to rank quite high in Heaven. Perhaps he was one of the Cherubim among the higher-tier angels. Actually, Wayne might even be a Seraph...

Nah, that can’t be.

No Seraphim could be that diabolical. Wayne didn’t even seem like he was acting when he played a demon. Though Derrida would joke about it, he drew the line there.

No one spoke in the holding cell. They were all conserving energy for the upcoming battle. Wayne refrained from making any sarcastic comments. He continued to track Regina with his eyes closed.

He had taken quite a liking to the two reincarnated angels. They were prideful, but not heartless. They accepted their memories as humans after awakening rather than erasing those memories out of derision for human emotions.

Śār Hesione had also chosen to integrate Mona’s memories, treating them as part of herself. However, Mona had become the dominant personality somehow, so it was Mona integrating Hesione’s memories instead of the other way around.

It had been a while since Wayne last received a lecture beneath the Śār. He missed it. He planned on pushing harder once he returned to make up for all the insults that he hadn’t been able to hear from Hesione.

He could swallow some abuse. It wouldn’t do for the Śār to lose out.

***

The convoy moved away from the downtown area and stopped at a military camp deep in the forest. Regina stepped out of one of the cars. The entire camp felt like a cold forest of steel. Rows of soldiers stood stone-faced, moving in robot-like synchronicity. The cave behind the camp was where the command center was set up.

Regina followed the Lieutenant General inside and keenly sensed the ripple of a spatial ward. The moment she stepped inside, Wayne lost the ability to sense her.

Danger!

Regina didn’t back down at that moment. She trusted that what Wayne had left with her would be enough to keep her safe.

The Lieutenant General led her deeper into the command center. They passed through another ward, and the world suddenly opened up.

It was a vast expanse of greyness with an enormous volcano at its center. Rivers of molten lava surged through the cracks on the ground, with waves of scorching heat rippling through the air. Over a hundred machines roared as they harvested geothermal energy.

In the sky above, volcanic ash and stone shards from past eruptions churned, forming a dense layer of dark clouds that resembled ferocious demons. Hovering in the sky, the clouds cast oppressive shadows from above.

The edge of the clouds blurred and shifted like a living thing, steadily encroaching on more parts of the sky. When clouds collided, sparks of currents could be seen snaking within the clouds.

Rimming the volcano was a dense cluster of military bastions, with so many tanks and aircraft ready to be deployed that Regina struggled to pick up her jaw. As a citizen born and raised in Prussia, she would proudly declare her nation unbeatable.

However, as a double agent, she felt quite disappointed that she would never live to see Prussia conquer the world.

At the foot of the volcano was a green command tent. Inside, three men in marshal’s uniforms sat within steel smelting chambers, their bodies connected to cables and tubes for a continuous supply of geothermal energy and electrical current. The temperature and pressure inside those chambers were so great that not even a legendary mage’s enhanced body could endure it, let alone a regular human.

Looking closely, one could make out the red liquid filling the chambers and discern that it was Philosopher’s Stone fragments in liquid form.

The three marshals were Prussia’s greatest achievement and the apex of Mechanical Augmentation. Their faces were identical to those of the three marshals known to every Prussian, and their identities should be unmistakable. However, they held such enormous responsibilities that they should be too busy to be here. It should be impossible.

“Has she arrived?”

“The new Air Marshal...”

1. Likely a reference to Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen, who was once a white-collar salaryman. ☜